Scotland victims of VAR injustice amid frantic search to rule out McTominay's stunner – Keith Jackson in Seville

If this is what it feels like to suffer a Senor moment then the future for Scotland might not be as much fun as we had been expecting

Because what happened to Steve Clarke’s blossoming young side here in Seville was so savagely unfair that the thought of it happening again at a later stage in their development might be just about unbearable. Those of us old enough have seen this injustice all before, of course. Like when Italy came to Hampden 16 years ago and won a match courtesy of committing a foul on Alan Hutton, thereby preventing Scotland from reaching Euro 2008.

Well, here we were back on the cusp of qualification for another major event – against another superpower – only to have it taken away by a decision which was even more painful. Just when Scott McTominay appeared to have fired a potential winner of his own, a video assistant began searching frantically for a reason not to let it stand. All he could find was the faintest of touches by Jack Hendry on Spain keeper Unai Simon and perhaps even a hint of offside. But it was enough.

And so, when a place at Euro 2024 seemed so close, Scotland were then undone by two late goals to compound this wretchedness. After a gargantuan effort in sweltering heat, they deserved so much more than this.

They began winding their way out towards the Estadio de la Cartuja from mid afternoon, just as the temperature was hovering somewhere between toasty and nuclear. All along the glistening Guadalquivir river they came, all sweaty sporrans and third-degree burns. This was not one they could contemplate missing out on.

They were, at least, sheltered from the last savage blasts of the sun when they penetrated the huge concrete walls of this ground. And yet it didn’t feel like