So much for tight, grim affairs between Scotland and Israel. A seventh meeting in three years broke the mould of anything that had come before. This was a breathless encounter, a game for the ages, as befitting the long-awaited return of a capacity crowd to this stadium.
The final act was the defining one. Scott McTominay knew little about the goal which sent Scotland to within touching distance of a World Cup play-off. He bundled a John McGinn corner home with his thigh to send Steve Clarke into raptures. Scotland now lead Israel by four points in Group F and, should Clarke’s men see off the Faroe Islands and Moldova in upcoming fixtures, second place behind Denmark will be theirs. The visit of the Danes to Glasgow in November would, in that scenario, be irrelevant.
