Who knows what Clarke's history makers have in store next year

A pulsating night so perfect and so perfectly Scottish

- KEITH JACKSON

WE could have always done it the easy way. But where would have been the fun in that after all this time?

Wasn't it just so perfect, so perfectly Scottish we should break our World Cup wilderness years with one of the most breathtaking, nerve-shredding, utterly spectacular 90 minutes in Hampden's long history?

Had it been won by Scott McTominay's stunning, acrobatic early opener then it would have been one for the history books. Granted.

But what followed, as Scotland were pushed to the brink of the most painful gut punch of Steve Clarke's six and a bit years in charge, was to recover with the biggest and most dramatic win of the manager's tenure.

No, that took this whole occasion from an extraordinary success to a night for the ages. One that will never, ever be forgotten.

McTominay's opener might still have to go down as the greatest Scotland goal of all time. But Kieran Tierney's and Kenny McLean's were not too far behind.

In fact, the sight of McLean chipping Kasper Schmeichel from the half way line to wrap it all up took the national stadium to a place it may never have been before.

And now Scotland head straight to the States, Canada and Mexico, which is where we always thought this journey through the looking glass was fated to reach its end.

Of course, somewhere in between all of this Lawrence Shankland thought he had poached the goal that would take us all there only for the Danes to strike back for a second time.