The unseen Scotland magic behind Spain glory win as key Callum McGregor demand underlines ruthless streak

No-one’s saying it’s been perfect. But as we approach four years since Steve Clarke took the job, it’s good to be a Scotland fan again.

Anyone who tells you otherwise clearly didn’t witness the way we faced up to the team ranked tenth in the world - 32 places above us - and took them to the cleaners. The feeling around Hampden before the game was that Scotland had a puncher's chance of taking something and when the team news came out, with Clarke going a little more attacking than predicted and Spain boss Luis de la Fuente making EIGHT changes, the volume of that quiet confidence was turned up a couple of notches.

But within six and a half minutes of the game, everyone in the national stadium sensed it was only going one way. Scott McTominay was the hero on the night with his late runs into the box proving the secret weapon for the second game running. Both goals were born from our world class quality down the left hand side - the first assisted by Andy Robertson and the second by Kieran Tierney who blew past Dani Carvajal as if he wasn't even there.

The tone for the game though was set by a moment down the Scotland right in the first half. Rodri may think we're just a bunch of thugs and time-wasters but the ease with which Aaron Hickey, Ryan Porteous and John McGinn beat the Spain press with four one-touch passes before breaking down the opposite flank suggested that the wholesale changes Luis de la Fuente made ahead of the game were badly misguided.

The quality Scotland had on the ball caught Spain off-guard throughout but it was matched by some gamesmanship that well and truly left them rattled. Around the half-hour mark Grant Hanley clattered into Joselu; by the end of the first half, the veteran Espanyol frontman