Scotland will look to keep up their recent good form with a double-header against two of the favourites for Euro 2016, starting with Italy on Sunday. Despite a disappointing qualifying campaign which saw them finish fourth in their group, Gordon Strachans side are seen as good warm-up opposition for some of the sides who will be in France.That sees them face incoming Chelsea manager Antonio Contes side in Malta before a meeting with the European Championship hosts in Metz next Saturday. The games in the next few days will be the Scots first against the Italians and French since both only just prevented them from reaching the 2008 tournament.As Strachan and his players seek some kind of retribution, they will do so coming off the back of three consecutive wins over Gibraltar and, more recently, the Czech Republic and Denmark.Scotlands assistant manager, Motherwell boss Mark McGhee, said: I hope the motivation is that they want to play against these good teams again regularly. Mark McGhee wants Scotlands players to be motivated by facing big-name sides ahead of the World Cup qualifiers I think it will be when they sit down to watch the Euros themselves and that will make them even more determined to be part of it next time.We have no control over what the Italians will do or what side they will pick - but they could pick any 11 from the squad they have and I think it will be a fairly robust challenge for us.Team newsWith the season ending and no competitive games internationally until the World Cup qualifiers begin in September, it is perhaps not surprising the Scots have been hit with withdrawals.Rangers defender Lee Wallace is among the latest to pull out along with Derbys Chris Martin and Aston Villa right-back Alan Hutton. Lee Wallace is out of the squad but his Rangers team-mate Barrie McKay (above) remains involved Wallaces Ibrox team-mate Barrie McKay remains in the group, however, and is expected to make his first senior appearance for his country over the coming days.Goalkeepers Allan McGregor and Scott Bain are both missing with back injuries so Scott Fox and Jack Hamilton have been selected as replacements.Swanseas Stephen Kingsley and Derby midfielder Craig Bryson are also in but Andy Robertson, Robert Snodgrass, Shaun Maloney and Barry Bannan all miss out.Each of them will be at Wembley for the Championship play-off final between Hull and Sheffield Wednesday but they will join Scotland at their Maltese training camp ahead of the France match. Swanseas Stephen Kingsley has been called into the group after a number of withdrawals Opta statsScotland have only beaten Italy once in their history, winning 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier in November 1965 (D2 L7).The last meeting between the teams came in November 2007, when Italy ended Scotlands Euro 2008 qualifying hopes in a 2-1 victory through a 90th-minute winner from Christian Panucci.Gordon Strachan has lost just one of his last nine friendlies as Scotland manager (W6 D2). Antonio Conte will take charge of Chelsea after he takes Italy to Euro 2016 in France The only Scottish player to score in an away from home against Italy is Kevin Gallacher, back in October 1993.The Tartan Army are looking to keep three successive clean sheets away from home for the first time since September 2007.Italy havent won any of their last four internationals since qualifying for Euro 2016 (D2 L2).Italys last eight international goals have all been scored by different players, with only one of those goals coming in the first half.Graziano Pelle has scored more goals than any other Italian player during Antonio Contes reign (four). Graziano Pelle has scored more goals for Italy than any other player during Contes reign as manager BettingScotland go up against odds of 17/4 to secure the victory on Sunday evening as Sky Bet rate Italy 4/6 favourites, while the draw priced at 13/5.The Italians are, however, up against odds of 16/1 to win Euro 2016 while Scotland are given a 4/1 chance of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup after failing to book their place in this summers finals.Southamptons Pelle is rated Italys main threat at 9/2 to net first, while Steven Fletcher heads the betting from Scotlands side of the first goalscorer betting at 8/1.Follow Italy v Scotland with our live blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports apps. Cheap Puma Irealand . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. 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NEW YORK -- Serena Williams called herself Wonder Woman and Superwoman in a joking reference to the hot pink sleeves she was sporting Saturday at the US Open. But she hardly needed superpowers to advance to the round of 16.I feel OK, Williams said after dispatching 47th-ranked Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-1 in a crisp 60 minutes of third-round tennis. Obviously, I dont feel like Im Serena out there yet, but hopefully shell come around the second week.Quick, neat and uneventful was also good enough to surpass Martina Navratilova and tie Roger Federer for the all-time record of 307 Grand Slam match victories. Reminded of the feat on court afterward, Williams thrust her fist into the air.Actually, it was a really good feeling, I have to say, she said. I was really excited to do that, something I didnt even know about until Wimbledon. I was like, Oh, I have a new goal. That was pretty cool for me. Obviously, I want to keep that number going higher and see what can happen.Carrying a sore right shoulder into the tournament, Serena could benefit from low drama and minimal effort as she pursues the Open-era record of 23 Grand Slam titles, which would surpass Steffi Graf and leave her only one shy of Margaret Court for the all-time mark.At the 2015 Open, Williams played 19 three-set matches, losing only two, but one of those was a semifinal shocker against Roberta Vinci. Williams also played a three-setter against Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the third round last year.After that match, an exhausted Williams sighed, A wins a win, revealing more and more what an emotionally debilitating pursuit the chase for the Grand Slam was becoming.I dont know what to expect, she said wearily, Ive never been on this train. Its different. Its definitely different.The journey has been far less taxing soo far this year.ddddddddddddAfter the third round, Serena is 36-5 for 2016, but played only three matches (at the Olympics) between Wimbledon and the US Open, compared to 11 in three tournaments last year with a 51-2 record.For whatever its worth, with her Wimbledon title, Williams became just the second woman in tennis history, along with Navratilova, to win the third major of the year after losing in the final of the first two. Navratilova went on to win the Open.So far, so good, said Williams, pronouncing the shoulder definitely solid.Against Larsson, Williams had six aces and won 82 percent of her first-service points, reaching a high speed of 121 mph on her serve while averaging 105 (on her first serve), which has been typical this past week.What she does well and what you cant really see on the screen is that shes mixing her tempo, Larsson said of her groundstrokes. Its not only hard, hard like it might look like. Theres a lot of spin out there. I was impressed it was bouncing up so high. She did that really well. [And] she was placing [her serves] really good and also mixing up what she does on her serve.Williams next plays 52nd-ranked Yaroslava Shvedova; her first seeded opponent would then come in the quarterfinals against either No. 5 Simona Halep, against whom she is 7-1, or No. 11 Carla Suarez Navarro, whom she has beaten in all six tries.Williams will likely be wearing another color but the same sleeves in the outfit she helped design, but no telling if she will have to channel Wonder Woman.It definitely feels like a really powerful character that is strong but yet isnt afraid to be soft at the same time, she said. [Thats] me. ' ' '