I RAISED a few eyebrows on a football show I appeared on recently when I said that, in my opinion, Belgium are one of the three best sides in Europe just now.

But I honestly do not think that was an exaggeration. The team Scotland will play in a World Cup qualifier at Hampden on Friday night really are that good.

This current crop of Belgian players have not distinguished themselves in the final of a major tournament, in a European Championship or a World Cup.

But they have the potential to do that. I believe they are only behind Spain and Germany in this continent. They are ready to explode on the world stage.

They are strong from the back to the front. They have players dotted all through their side who can score goals for them. Sometimes when you watch them it seems they can net at will.

In Christian Benteke of Aston Villa they have one of the most feared predators in the Premier League.

Eden Hazard can be unpredictable. But the Chelsea player is extremely gifted. We saw that in the Super Cup final last Friday when he scored a good goal against Bayern Munich.

Marouane Fellaini has come on immensely in the last couple of seasons, and it is really no surprise to me that David Moyes splashed out £27.5million to bring him to Manchester United this week.

Vincent Kompany of Manchester City is unavailable for this game due to injury and he is a loss. But Belgium have plenty of talented central defenders.

Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld are both ballplaying centre-backs and, if fit, they will probably start this Group A match.

Every player in the Belgium side is comfortable in possession and can pass the ball around with accuracy and authority. That is a characteristic of their team.

Belgium need to win this match to keep alive their hopes of winning the section and qualifying automatically for the World Cup finals in Brazil next summer. Their work is not yet done.

We, on the other hand, are unable to qualify and are simply hoping for another encouraging performance as we look to build toward our Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.

But there could be no better game to gain confidence from than this one. Get a result against a qualilty outfit like Belgium and morale within the national squad will grow.

Gordon Strachan's side started to play to its strengths - pushing forward from midfield - in the games against Croatia and England.

Despite losing the friendly, I think Scotland emerged from Wembley with great credit. Many people I have spoken to were quite surprised at how well they performed. They more than matched their hosts for long spells of the game.

Roy Hodgson's team only gained the edge and sneaked a 3-2 win towards the end when several substitutions had been made. Their superior strength in depth eventually told.

I think this match against a quality team like Belgium will be another barometer of how far Scotland have come in a short space of time under Strachan.

I also think the visitors have weaknesses that our side can exploit.

For example, they do not have an abundance of full-backs. In fact, their full-backs are normally centre-backs who have been shunted out wide.

Speak to any Belgian football fan and they will tell you the same thing. Their side is not strong at left-back or right- back because they effectively play central defenders out of position out wide.

Nor should Scotland fear Daniel van Buyten if he is given the nod to play. The Bayern Munich defender is 35 now and is no longer at the same level as many of his team-mates.

So Scotland can do some damage if they get the ball and attack the visitors down the flanks. A player like James Forrest, if he is selected, could be a potent weapon.

Belgium are a very, very strong side and play with an enormous amount of flair. Getting a result, even a draw, will be difficult indeed.

But we have improved defensively, with Russell Martin of Norwich City looking like a real find in recent games, and will hopefully be more solid at the back than we have been before.

It was disappointing to lose goals so cheaply at set-pieces against England. If we can tighten up in that crucial area then we will give Marc Wilmots' side a game.

Scotland are never better than when they are written off with no hope of success.