THEIR names might not make the final cut tomorrow night at Hampden, but for Iceland youngsters Teddy Bjarnason and Kjartan Finnbogason, it is a chance to return to an old haunt.

The duo undertook some of their football education at Celtic, where they were part of the fringes of the club before quitting in search of first-team football.

Both are part of the Icelandic squad for the Hampden game and are disappointing some old mates won't be lining up against them.

"It will be a tough game," said Finnbogason. "Obviously, Scotland are the favourites, but I think it will also be a tough game for them to play at home.

"Stilian Petrov was a big, big player I looked up to when I was at Celtic, now he has gone to the Premiership, I liked everyone, Shaun Maloney, and Aiden McGeady obviously, he was a good friend of mine.

"I was actually surprised that Celtic allowed Teddy to go. I thought he came in and did well when he played a first-team game against Hibs."

Both players are plying their trade in the Norwegian league and believe the similarities between there and the SPL are obvious.

"I don't see a big difference between the Scottish and Norwegian leagues, although I think Celtic and Rangers are quite a bit ahead, just as they are in Scotland," said Bjarnason.

"The standard in Norway is very good. We had a few teams in Europe last year who did quite well, and I am sure we will have a few more this year.

"I was happy with my time at Celtic, I made a lot of good friends there, but obviously I would have liked to have been given a better chance than I did. That is football though. Sometimes you are lucky and sometimes you are not.

"Lyn Oslo sold Jon Obi Mikel to Chelsea, and have just sold Chinedu Ogboke to Hoffenheim in the German league. We sold someone to Serie A last year, so playing here is a good platform to move to bigger clubs. I thought about that before I moved on."

Finnbogason has no regrets about the decision he made to move to Glasgow as a teenager, and has not ruled out the prospect of returning at some point.

"I always tried to do my best, but I was quite unlucky with injuries as well," he said. "Two or three times I broke a bone in my foot, but pretty much every time I played, I scored.

"I absolutely don't think it was a mistake to come to Scotland in the first place. I don't regret anything, apart from maybe I always think I can do better.

"Maybe I could have worked harder, done more in games, or whatever. I now hope to do well here at Sandefjord.

"I was top scorer for my team last season, and we got promoted, so now we are in the top division. Maybe one day I could come back to Scotland, I would love that."

Both Iceland and Scotland are pushing for second place in the group, and this is a game that George Burley's side have to win to maintain their hopes of a play-off position.

Iceland, though, are in a similar position, and it will be a tough game for Scotland.

"I think Wednesday night is going to be a massive game," said Bjarnason. "We are the strongest side that Iceland has had for a long time.

"Everyone is playing in a decent league in Europe so I really think this is the best squad we have had a long time. The first game between the sides was very close, but the players from Scotland played a very strong match.

"I think it is going to be a hard fight for that second place behind Holland.

"I have no idea if I will be starting the match but I will just meet up with the squad and train hard and hope for the best. The manager has used me either wide right or wide left."