Scotland coach Gordon Strachan on Monday handed a surprise first international call-up to Bournemouth winger Matt Ritchie in naming his squad for the games against Northern Ireland and Gibraltar.

Ritchie was born in England, but the 25-year-old qualifies for the Dark Blues on the basis of having a Scottish-born father Alex. In other changes, Fulham striker Ross McCormack and Blackburn goalscorer Jordan Rhodes have both been recalled to Strachan's 26-man squad.

Ritchie started his career at Portsmouth but also had loan stints at Dagenham and Redbridge, Notts County and Swindon where he signed a permanent deal in 2011. Two years later he moved to Bournemouth and has been a key player for coach Eddie Howe as his side have stormed to the top of the Championship. Ritchie has scored 11 times for the Cherries so far this season, including two in a 5-1 win at Fulham a fortnight ago.

Scotland take on Northern Ireland in a Hampden friendly a week on Wednesday before hosting European Championship qualifying opponents Gibraltar on Sunday, March 29. Strachan's side sit third in Group D with seven points from four games, while Gibraltar - UEFA's newest member - are bottom with no points from the same number of fixtures, having failed to score a single goal while conceding 21.