Scotland hoping Liam Cooper can bring Leeds United's 'Marcelo Bielsa magic' to Nations League

Liam Cooper has been backed to bring some 'Bielsa magic' into the Scotland camp ahead of their Nations League double header this weekend.

The Leeds United skipper has been included in Steve Clarke's squad for games against Israel and the Czech Republic.

Clarke's men take on the former at Hampden Park this evening in Glasgow before travelling to the Andrův stadium on Monday night.

Cooper - who is fresh from lifting the Championship trophy with the Whites - is being backed to make an impact on the international stage.

"Liam played in a couple of games for me last year where we didn't get great results against difficult opponents," said Clarke.

"After that, he was injured but he got back into the Leeds team towards the end of last season and was captain of a side that was very strong in the Championship, and I am sure will be strong in the Premier League.

"I hope Liam can come in and bring a bit of experience, a bit of the Bielsa magic into the camp.

"Liam has good experience and he's a good player, I liked his demeanour. He's been captain and is a leader as well, so that should help the centre backs.

"In international football, if you give the ball away, you can spend a long time trying to get it back and you can also be heavily punished on the counter-attack. It's important you have people who can play from the back and know when to play from the back and when not to and a player of Liam's experience would have that in his locker."