Scotland’s target must be to follow up the high of Euro 2020 qualifying by reaching the World Cup.
There is optimism that this can be achieved as more than 20 years of disappointment finally came to an end when reaching the Euro 2020 finals.
Scotland’s next priority, however, must be winning the Nations League group by defeating Israel tomorrow.
Winning the group would elevate Scotland into League A, where you are rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite.
Israel away is a huge game for the Scots and they just have to keep the performance levels at the levels of recent games.
Steve Clarke’s side have to go into tomorrow’s game with the confidence and belief built over a nine- game unbeaten run.
Although that run ended with the 1-0 loss to Slovakia, the Scots were very well organised and played with a high tempo and a high press.
Following the penalty shootout defeat of Serbia in the Euro 2020 play-off final, there was a lot of euphoria.
However, I didn’t see any signs of a hangover as Scotland still created chances in Slovakia.
It could easily have been a different story if Lyndon Dykes was up front as he makes a huge difference.
Topping the Nations League group is vital as it also offers a potential route to the World Cup.
The Nations League is an important tournament that gives small nations the best opportunity to qualify.
We have to class ourselves as a small nation as Scotland had gone 22 years without qualifying for a tournament before securing a Euro 2020 spot.
It is almost like a draft system, where Uefa know big countries are all-powerful, but are trying to design a way to allow smaller nations to participate in tournaments.
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