Chicago Fire midfielder Shaun Maloney will head back across the Atlantic this week, after he was called up to the Scotland national team for its June 5 home friendly against Qatar and a June 13 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
Fresh off the Fire's biggest win of the season, a 3-0 decision against the Montreal Impact on Saturday evening, Maloney will aim to give his home country a lift as a very tightly-spaced Group D field moves beyond the halfway point in the qualifying tournament. Scotland currently sit third in the group with 10 points through five games played, the same number as second-placed Germany. Poland lead the group with 11 points, while Ireland (8 points) could leapfrog Scotland with a win in Dublin.
The top two teams in each group, plus the third-placed team with the best record among all nine groups, will automatically qualify for the tournament in France, while the remaining third-placed teams will play off for the four remaining spots in the expanded 24-team field.
Maloney, 32, joined the Fire as a Designated Player in late January from English outfit Wigan Athletic. He has registered a goal and two assists in 10 appearances to date, and has gone the full 90 minutes in all games in which he has played. He will miss three games while with Scotland: June 3 at D.C. United, June 6 vs. Orlando City, and June 13 at New England.
Since making his Scotland debut in October 2005, Maloney has appeared 39 times for Scotland and scored six goals, including four in Scotland's three most recent Euro 2016 qualifiers.
