It made me appreciate any success I have had, but there were times when I thought my chance had passed me by.”Hopkin was fortunate that, at Cappielow, he had a manager in Allan McGraw who not only makes it his life’s work to seek out young talent but also to find them a bigger stage. This is a good game to judge him.”A good performance could raise Hopkin’s stock on the international stage. It would also add another pound or two to his value back home, where Leeds United are ready with a pounds 3m bid, although Palace may yet keep their midfielder now that they have reached the higher ground.It is all a long way from Hopkin’s humble beginnings with Greenock Morton, just a mile along the road from his home in the tough shipyard town of Port Glasgow. “I watched him earlier in the season in a match with QPR and could finally understand why his former manager Dave Bassett had been raving about him. However, the one thing the Scots manager knows he can be guaranteed today is a full shift from a player who has picked un unglamorous route to the top but is now as rich in ability as any of the star names he will rub shoulders with next season.”David brings enthusiasm, power and not a little skill to the side,” Brown said. Malta will be no stroll in the sunshine for Hopkin, not that he enjoys such things anyway.”I always plaster myself with high-factor sun cream or else total block,” the Selhurst Park captain said. “With my skin, there is always a real danger that I will burn.

I look like a Test cricketer but it’s a vital precaution.”Brown has even ordered the squad doctor to keep a close eye on Hopkin during training to avoid burning. Underneath the burning Mediterranean skies is the last place someone as solarly challenged as the red-haired, freckled Crystal Palace player would choose to be. Hopkin has as much chance as surviving unscathed in the friendly in Sliema as Craig Brown has in discovering a prolific goalscorer. A cover-up will be the order of the day for the 26-year-old Scot but maybe his role as cover man will prove more fruitful.

With Scotland desperately needing to find alternatives to their tried and toothless frontline, Hopkin could not have timed his arrival better.
While the 1-0 friendly defeat by Wales on Tuesday underlined the paucity of resources available to Brown when it comes to putting the ball in the net, just 24 hours earlier Hopkin demonstrated his mastery of the art with stunning efficiency at Wembley, striking the winner against Sheffield United to earn his club a place in the Premiership.Now he will be given the chance to translate that to the international stage in a match which has genuine purpose with next Sunday’s World Cup Group Four qualifying tie in Belarus just around the corner. The squad then limped on dispirited and dishevelled to the United States for another summer tournament – in which they were beaten by the host nation and Germany and drew with Brazil – 12 months ahead of a World Cup finals.Hoddle refuses to countenance comparisons at this stage and is unworried that England might be embarrassed. “We have got the players who can perform against the best,” he insists. “The days when you get or give a hammering in international football are few and far between. To pit your playing skills and your tactics as a coach against these sort of players is exactly what we will see in 12 months time if we are there, and it’s a great experience.”.

David Hopkin has waited a long time for his moment in the sun but even he has had second thoughts about making his Scotland debut in Malta today. Then, what looked like a reasonable result in Katowice, a 1-1 draw, was wasted a few days later with the 2-0 defeat in Norway. “Is the travelling too much or yes, that’s the way we would want to do it? In many ways it’s an experiment to see if we can get ready for the World Cup finals if we get there.”"If we get there,” punctuates Hoddle’s comments these days and even if he does remain confident, he is wise not to sound presumptuous. The fear for many England observers going into last night’s match in Poland was that it carried echoes of Graham Taylor’s ill-fated campaign in 1993. Other Manchester United kids in Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt can also expect their first starts.”It’s an opportunity for young players to play against the best,” says Hoddle “It will be interesting to see how they handle it. I might come away thinking ‘he couldn’t adapt’ or ‘he did much better than I thought he would’.” Bonuses, he believes, are the opportunities to bond a squad over three weeks and to rectify failings the day after matches rather than wait until the next get-together.”But the most important thing for me is the players learning about the environment and for me to get an insight into what it could be like in 12 months’ time,” he adds.

“It would be lovely to go and win it but that’s not my main reason for looking forward to pitting our skills and tactics against three very strong nations.”Hoddle had planned to experiment radically in the case of Jamie Redknapp, who was to be tried as a libero coming out of defence. An injury to Redknapp now precludes it but we should still see the long-awaited debut in the centre of midfield of David Beckham. The two opponents, both at full strength, have not been playing qualifying matches for next summer’s World Cup finals as hosts and holders and will treat the occasions as competitive.”I feel the tournament on and off the pitch is about looking at players,” says the England coach Glenn Hoddle. It is likely, in a tournament which could see all 22 squad members start a match, that England will field all but a reserve team.Thereafter, against France in Montpellier next Saturday and Brazil in Paris the following Tuesday, the matches are likely to carry more significance. How strong the desire to establish a psychological advantage with a victory; how much to hold back?
In addition, England will be travelling to western France from more meaningful action in Poland, with injuries and fatigue likely to play a part.