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That in itself is a back-handed compliment to Clarke, who has hauled Scotland out of international exile to be within touching distance of going to USA, Canada and Mexico next summer.

Since the late and magnificent Craig Brown trudged off the park in St Etienne in the summer of 98, six different Scotland managers have tried and failed to get the nation to major tournament.

Play-offs came and went. So too did the international careers of many players who deserved more.

Then came Clarke in 2019. The messiah of Kilmarnock took the national team from losing in Kazakhstan to back-to-back Euros. He did so with a blend of Brown’s hard-to-beat mantra, an emerging crop of talent and a dollop of landmark results.

Spain beaten at Hampden. Norway turned over in their own back yard. Serbia outdone on penalties five years ago. Croatia upstaged in Glasgow.

Scott McTominay, John McGinn, Billy Gilmour, Andy Robertson. Some old and some new, but players with reputations and pedigrees to match who have helped haul Scotland from the shadows of irrelevance into the spotlight.

That ascension has brought scrutiny. Some of it harsh, some of it deserved.

In the 2022 play-off semi-final against Ukraine, Clarke’s team disintegrated on an occasion, just like this one, that meant so much.

Two Euros have drifted by without a glove having been laid on any of their opponents. Just three goals were scored across six games.

These examples stand as warnings of the past, but they should be used as motivators for the here and now. As if any were needed.

The moral of all of this is that Scotland have so often failed to grasp the opportunity that they’ve clawed out for themselves. The moment has slipped away.

On Tuesday, this group has the chance to reach a World Cup. No strings, no what ifs.

Denmark have been at five of the past seven World Cups but, just like their hosts, vulnerability is lurking. There is a weakness which was exposed by the Belorussians which needs ruthlessly pounced upon. Conversely, signs of an intensity in Scotland’s second-half display in Greece surely must be replicated from the start in Glasgow.

There is an overwhelming sense that Scotland’s fate on Tuesday does not depend on what the handy Danes do, but what Clarke’s team can conjure up and rouse from within themselves.

The quality is there. The incentive is there. The opportunity is there.

We are about to find out if the courage to take it is there.

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India and Pakistan players before an Asia Cup match. (Getty Images) Congress MP Shashi Tharoor addressed the controversy surrounding Indian cricketers’ refusal to shake hands with Pakistani players during the Asia Cup tournament, suggesting that sports should remain separate from politics and military conflicts, as both teams prepare for a potential final clash on Sunday.”I personally feel that once the decision had been made to play, if we feel so strongly about Pakistan, we should not have played… But if we are going to play them, we should play in the spirit of a game, and we should have shaken their hands… We have done this before in 1999, when the Kargil War was going on. On the very day the soldiers were dying for our country, we were playing the World Cup in England against Pakistan. We were shaking their hands even then because the spirit of the game is a different spirit from what goes on between countries, between Armies and so on. That is my view,” Tharoor said.

‘They complement each other perfectly,†Suryakumar Kumar on Abhishek Sharma-Shubman Gill stand vs Pakistan

“If the Pakistani team, having been insulted the first time, decided to insult us back the second time, it shows that the spirit of the game is lacking on both sides,” he added.Tensions have escalated after the second episode in the Asia Cup. The BCCI has filed an official complaint with the ICC and match referee Andy Pycroft against Pakistani players Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf for their conduct during the Asia Cup Super Four match on September 21.The complaint specifically highlights Sahibzada Farhan’s controversial half-century celebration, where he held his bat like a gun, which was viewed as insensitive and provocative.Haris Rauf’s behaviour also came under scrutiny for showing aggression after dismissing Sanju Samson and making a “0-6” gesture to Indian spectators, referring to Pakistan’s claims about downing Indian fighter jets during the border clash following India’s Operation Sindoor in May.Rauf’s actions went viral on social media, drawing criticism from Indian fans who responded by chanting “Virat Kohli,” referencing the Indian batter’s memorable sixes against Rauf during the T20 World Cup 2022 in Melbourne.The Pakistan Cricket Board has also filed two complaints with the ICC against Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav regarding his comments about the Pahalgam incident after the September 14 game, which they claim was political in nature.On the pitch, India have dominated their encounters with Pakistan in the tournament, winning both matches as they advanced to the finals, with the possibility of facing Pakistan again in Sunday’s final, should they beat Bangladesh.

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