Battered twice by brilliant Belgium at a half empty Hampden, Scotland were looking like a lost cause to an increasingly apathetic nation.
But Roberto Martinez, the orchestrator of the agony for both Alex McLeish and Steve Clarke, disagreed.
The manager of FIFA ’s top ranked country has been impressed by the transformation in Scotland’s fortunes since winning 4-0 in Glasgow in September of 2018 and 2019.
But he’s not surprised.
For former Motherwell midfielder Martinez noted potential amid the pain that his team of superstars inflicted upon their hapless hosts.
And he has been thrilled to follow Scotland’s progress since – reaching Euro 2020 and on the brink of the 2022 World Cup Finals in Qatar.
The former Wigan and Everton boss also has a vested interest as his wife Beth is Scottish.
And his coaching sidekick with Belgium for three-and-a-half years was Shaun Maloney before he left to become the new manager of Hibs.
Watching Scotland on TV with Maloney at international camps was a sore experience for too long for Martinez.
But the Spaniard always believed that with talent like Scott McTominay, John Souttar, John McGinn, Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson – all of whom featured against his side – there were far better times ahead.
All that shrewd operator Clarke needed, said Martinez, was training-field hours to make it click.
He said: “As a manager in international football, you always need coaching time and hours on the training ground.
“You can see with a national team, that coaching the players takes longer than at club level.
“It’s difficult to change the mentality straight away, that is totally normal. So I knew Steve Clarke would need that quality time to make the team progress.
“When we played Scotland the last time, looking through the squad, I felt it was getting ready to have a strong group at
international level.
“There are four or five players who are not just playing in the Premier League but are also playing seriously important roles with their clubs.
“For example, the captain Andy Robertson has won the Champions League.
“Kieran Tierney plays a big role in an Arsenal team that is fighting to get into the Champions League places right now.”
Martinez reckons the manner of qualification for Euro 2020 – sneaking past Israel then Serbia in shoot-outs – created a
toughness and spirit that laid the foundations for the more recent stellar spell of results.
Those play-off successes after extra-time and penalties told the tale of a team growing ever more confident in each other and mentally resolute. Losses to Czech Republic and Croatia either side of a battling Wembley stalemate made it another group stage exit for Scotland at the finals.
But an awesome autumn has shown Clarke’s reign remains on an upward curve.
In surging to second place in World Cup qualifying and beating previously undefeated group winners Denmark, Scotland won six competitive games in a row for the first time since 1930.
Martinez said: “I could see the way that they qualified for the European Championships was of the highest level.
“It’s not easy to deal with a play-off where expectation is so huge and the working time was small for Steve Clarke.
“You don’t get any better reflection of your work in the Scottish camp than winning in the manner they did.
“That told me this was a team going from strength to strength.
“And it was clear to see by the celebrations just how much it meant to these players to play for their national team and achieve something.
“I think that is a perfect foundation for the future, I think that they took huge strength from that.
“I felt it was a shame that Hampden Park couldn’t be at full capacity for the Euros.
“I am totally convinced that would’ve been a massive help to the Scotland team.
“But I did feel the Scotland team was still one full of potential with new players that could reach a high level.
“The Scotland midfield is so strong. Then it’s all about getting the right players in the right positions to develop and play the type of football that can get Scotland to a World Cup and then progress.”
Clarke’s heroes can join Belgium at Qatar 2022 by beating Ukraine under new coach Oleksandr Petrakov at Hampden then travel to overcome the winner of the other semi-final between Wales and Austria.
Martinez is convinced there is nothing for the Tartan Army to fear from those tests.
In fact, he thinks the opposition won’t fancy their draw against the highly progressive Scots.
He said: “With teams like Portugal and Italy in these play-offs, it shows you the difficulty of qualifying for this particular World Cup.
“Ukraine is a difficult game where there is a new coach, so you have an uncertain level of performance to assess.
“As we all know, it’s Wales or Austria if Scotland progress, and I just feel there are many things that could affect the outcome of that one.
“But Scotland has shown that they have as good a chance as anyone to qualify for the World Cup.”
As Scotland kick off against Ukraine, Martinez will be preparing his Red Devils squad for a friendly trip to face the Republic of Ireland two days later.
Family ties may well dictate that, despite losing Maloney to his first job in management, he keeps his interest high in Scotland’s dramas.
When asked if Maloney was able to cheer on Scotland while working in the Belgium camp, Martinez replied: “We made sure he was!
“Obviously my wife is Scottish so we always have an interest.
“Shaun always had time to do his work – and then to watch Scotland playing live.”
