Over on Broadway, generations of theatre impresarios have held the belief that a bad dress rehearsal guarantees you a great opening night.
It’s an interesting theory. It’s just not one that anyone who has an affiliation with the Scotland national team will ever put much store by.
Back in 2021, Steve Clarke’s side finalised their preparations for the delayed Euro 2020 by limping to a one-goal win in Luxembourg. The great return to the international stage was a huge let-down.
Two years ago, the side barnstormed its way to qualification for Euro 2024 only to lose momentum.
A narrow win over Gibraltar and a draw with Finland strengthened the view that the finals was coming at the wrong moment. And so it proved.
This feels markedly different. Up to last weekend, since taking charge in 2019, Steve Clarke’s Scotland had only scored four goals or more on five occasions.
Striker Che Adams scores the second of his goals in Scotland’s 4-0 victory against Bolivia
Having drawn a blank in successive friendlies against Japan and the Ivory Coast in March, there was a concern that the pre-tournament wobbles were returning. What a difference a week makes.
If last Saturday’s ultimately comfortable 4-1 win over Curacao ensured the players boarded their charter to Florida with renewed belief, then the four goals they stuck past Bolivia in New Jersey would have taken their confidence to a new level.
In the aftermath, Clarke stressed that the side still had plenty to work on but, importantly, they will do so from a position of strength.
Without question, physically and psychologically, this is the best shape Scotland have been in on the eve of a tournament since the manager came in.
There are still plenty of issues for Clarke to ponder. But unlike the past two finals, they are mostly of the right kind. ‘Fantastic, fantastic problems,’ he said after the comprehensive 4-0 win over the South Americans.
One matter which should not cause him much consternation ahead of this weekend’s opener against Haiti in Boston is the shape of the team.
Having veered between 3-5-2, 3-4-2-1 and 4-2-3-1, an orthodox 4-4-2 has been the key to happiness across the past week.
The side was too open at times against Curacao yet looked far less vulnerable to counterattacks by Bolivia.
Clarke evidently tightened things up in the training camp in Florida. The players looked more comfortable with what they were being asked to do out of possession on Saturday.
That tactical solidity allowed them to attack with such menace, blowing Bolivia away with a torrent of first-half goals.
You’d be astonished if that’s not the blueprint for Haiti. The only question is who starts and who’s asked to impact the game from the bench.
So often in the past, Clarke’s faced an unenviable task of piecing a side together. There are still areas of concern, but it feels like things have moved on. He’ll have to disappoint certain players who will justifiably feel they should be starting.
This is surely no bad thing. With heat and humidity to contend with plus VAR and water breaks elongating the duration of the matches, the importance of the five substitutes cannot be overstated.
Ryan Christie deserves to keep his place after an excellent display in Scotland’s final friendly
It may be cliched to suggest it, but the side which ends the game is as important as the one which starts it. The game-management a much-changed team showed to shut out Bolivia in the second half wasn’t lost on the manager amid the heroics of a scintillating first-half display.
The easier decisions for Clarke probably come at opposite ends of the park.
Grant Hanley and Jack Hendry were more cohesive against Bolivia than John Souttar and Scott McKenna were against Curacao.
There’s no reason to think they won’t be asked to go again against Haiti with the selections of Aaron Hickey and Andy Robertson in the full-back areas assured.
Craig Gordon did nothing wrong in the first warm-up game. The suspicion is that Angus Gunn will retain his spot in goal purely because he kept a clean sheet behind Hanley and Hendry.
Any doubt as to what is Clarke’s most productive forward partnership was washed away during the first half in the Sports Illustrated Stadium.
The understanding between Che Adams and Lawrence Shankland was striking, with their respective skillsets perfectly complementing each other.
Lyndon Dykes did well when paired with Shankland seven days previously, but Adams simply did better. He and the now Rangers man played instinctively and brilliantly.
After Shankland headed home the opener and Scott McTominay drilled in the second, Adams helped himself to a double. At the point the half-time whistle sounded, Scotland were almost scoring at will.
Patient when they had to be in the heat, ruthless in the key moments, it was a heartening display. Notwithstanding the fact it was a friendly against a side still smarting from being eliminated in the play-offs, it was as impressive a 45 minutes as Scotland have produced in long enough.
As you tried to process it all at half-time, the mind drifted towards next weekend in Boston.
The sight of John McGinn warming up presented a quandary. It’s inconceivable, surely, that the Aston Villa skipper won’t start against Haiti. No player has contributed more to the Clarke era.
But no player who contributed to a near flawless first-half display deserves to drop out either. Whatever the manager decides, it’s is going to feel inordinately hard on someone.
McTominay also starts. That’s obvious. He was frighteningly good, strolling past Bolivian opponents, exhibiting his full range of passing.
Given Haiti’s reputation for being a potent counterattacking side, it would seem folly for Clarke not to select a defensive midfielder. Lewis Ferguson was outstanding. Kenny McLean didn’t put a foot wrong when he came on.
From the manager’s point of view, there’s probably not a great deal in it, but he’ll surely be compelled to give one of them the nod.
Steve Clarke is sure to pick winger Ben Gannon-Doak for the World Cup opener against Haiti
Ben Gannon-Doak’s performance on the right wing was frightening. He lacked subtlety against Curacao, but he was composed and effective in his work. Time and time again, his pace destroyed Bolivia.
He set up Adams for his second and invariable made good decisions throughout. You couldn’t take your eyes off him. In a game Scotland simply must win, his inclusion from the start feels essential.
The case of Ryan Christie is the epitome of the ‘fantastic’ problems which Clarke must wrestle with.
The Bournemouth man was excellent in the heat of Harrison. He played a key role in the opener when he fed the overlapping Robertson. He didn’t force the play and he made key interceptions.
There’s a possibility that he could be deployed in a deeper role where he’s featured frequently for Bournemouth although you’d imagine the manager is more likely to go with a specialist like Ferguson or McLean.
Christie would be entitled to feel wronged if he’s the odd man out, but he’s smart enough to appreciate that it would be absolutely no slight on him. Without question, he’d still have a key role to play from the bench.
As Scotland settle into their training base in Charlotte, much can still happen before Clarke has to finalise his decisions.
One thing which can be taken to the bank already is that they will alight at Boston later in the week feeling this is their moment.
