Sir Alex Ferguson says the Scottish national side will be much-improved by the eventual return of Alan Hutton.
The Tottenham defender has not played this season after suffering a stress fracture to his right foot.
"I think when Hutton comes back he will make a massive difference to the Scotland team," said the Manchester United manager.
"He's without doubt as good a full-back as there is in Britain. He's got great attacking qualities."
Scotland have had a mixed start to their qualifying campaign with a defeat in Macedonia followed by victory in Iceland.
But, despite the negative feeling after the 1-0 reverse in Skopje, Ferguson says things are looking good for the game in his homeland.
"There's a general feeling, even in England, that Scottish football is improving and there are young players who are starting to emerge," he said.
"I think, if you look at the current Scotland side, there are maybe half a dozen that are more-than-decent players.
"And they're getting to a standard where you expect them to win in places like Macedonia, which is good.
"You've also got players like Darren Fletcher, Barry Ferguson - a lot of them are actually doing quite well."
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