The enormity of certain sporting occasions is simply impossible to understate.
There will be no silverware for the victor come the end of the night at Hampden yet, in many respects, this feels like more than a cup final. A chance for sporting immortality does not lie around every corner.
An indication of what lies in wait for Steve Clarke and his players could be gleaned from social media in the hours that followed an incredible night in Pireaus on Saturday.
Clips abounded of Joe Jordon stooping to head home against Czechoslovakia in 1973, of Kenny Dalglish’s diving header against Wales at Anfield four years later and of Gordon Durie nodding home against Latvia in 1997.
Each one, a moment of unbridled joy as a nation celebrated qualification for the World Cup. For too long, this has been a collection which reminded us of the way things used to be.
Where once Scotland’s place at the greatest show on earth was almost assured, a generation has now grown up with their noses pressed to the glass.
John McGinn and Anthony Ralston can’t contain their excitement in their final training session
Joe Jordan went down in folklore when he headed home against Czechoslovakia in 1973
Kenny Dalglish’s headed goal against Wales in 1977 is something fans still talk about today
After six successive failures, this is a gilt-edged chance to reconnect with a storied past.
Denmark are a fine side with some supreme talents yet they don’t quite have the dynamite they were famed for in the 1980s.
A bug has been doing the rounds in Brian Riemer’s squad and those who haven’t been affected by it must still feel sick that they let a golden chance to automatically qualify slip through their hands against Belarus.
All this feeds into narrative that the stars are aligning for Clarke and his players. If only it was that simple.
‘The players have got a job to do,’ the manager stressed. ‘If they are not nervous or excited by the challenge ahead then they wouldn’t be at this level.
‘They understand the magnitude of the game and what it means, but they just have to prepare for a game of football and make sure they are focused on how we want to play it.
Gordon Durie heads Scotland into the 1998 World Cup with a crucial second against Latvia
‘They have to be focused on what Denmark might do. That’s our job as a coaching staff to give them an idea.
‘And then, when they cross the white line, they have to go out and play. And if they go out and play, like they can play, then I believe they are good enough to get the result that we need.’
The obvious concern for the Tartan Army comes from the fact that you just don’t know what you are getting with this team.
We’ve seen them take care of Spain. Arguably the best display of Clarke’s tenure came when they wiped the floor with Denmark in the last World Cup qualifying campaign.
It seems almost illogical that the same group can labour so badly against sides with infinitely less quality.
There’s a love for what these players have achieved, but there remains a lack of trust in what sort of display they will turn in from one game to the next.
Skipper Andy Robertson leads Scotland players in their final training session ahead of battle
Tonight would be quite the time to change that. Qualification for the World Cup on the back of successive appearances at the Euros would be a record which would echo down generations.
‘I think if you look at what we have achieved over the last six and a half years, a lot of these players are already — I’ll use your word — legends,’ added Clarke.
‘They are already very, very high in the ranking of what we’ve done as a country.
‘When I took the job six and a half years ago, a lot of people were telling me not to touch it. That it was a poisoned chalice. That you cannot do this.
‘But I looked at the group of players and I said I could see some quality there and I could see a group who I’d look forward to working with.
‘I said that because I felt we could achieve good things.
Steve Clarke has come under fire during this campaign but stands on the brink of greatness
‘We have managed to do that and now we have another very, very good thing that we can achieve together.’
Saturday’s chaotic affair in Pireaus won’t have taken too long to dissect. Scotland were simply woeful for 35 minutes. Pedestrian and passive, their feeble efforts were best watched through the cracks of the fingers of the visiting fans.
The remainder of the game bore no resemblance. Sharp, slick and incisive, the side delivered arguably the best half under Clarke in recent memory.
Remarkably, Scotland lost 3-2 yet fashioned enough chances to win the match comfortably. No prizes for guessing which version of themselves Clarke will want to see tonight.
It’s an occasion when fingernails are likely to be bitten to the quick. Knowing Scotland have to outscore the Danes, patience may prove hard to come by.
‘You have to get the balance right,’ the manager stressed. ‘Every game lasts 90 minutes, even a lot longer these days to over 100 minutes.
‘So, we have to get the balance right between attacking when we can attack and defending when we have to defend.
Clarke may shake up his defence for Denmark, with Hanley and McKenna competing for a start
‘We can probably reference back to the last game against Greece.
‘We got quite a lot right going forward, but got quite a lot wrong going the other way.’
Clarke has seen a lot in the game across the past 40 years, but few occasions surely quite like this.
No manager in history has taken Scotland to three major finals. He’s now 90 pulsating minutes away from doing so. It would be quite the legacy.
Asked how he felt, he shrugged: ‘Okay. I feel pretty calm considering the magnitude of the game and the occasion. I trust the players. I always trust my players.’
Aside from confirming Billy Gilmour’s absence, typically, the cards were kept glued to his chest.
The attempts of one Danish reporter to gain an insight into how Scotland might shape up was optimistic, to say the least.
Scotland’s players finished their game against Greece strong and will go out with huge belief
‘The Scottish media that are here will tell you that I never tell anybody anything about my team or about my tactics or what we’re going to do,’ he smiled.
‘I think it’s probably better that I don’t tell you what we’re going to do.’
The modus operandi remains a closely guarded secret. The object of the mission, less so.
‘I’d like to get to a World Cup with my country,’ Clarke stated. ‘That’s what I’ve always said.
‘I almost got there as a player, but I didn’t. As a coach, last time, we almost got there but we didn’t. Now we’ve got another chance.
‘So, the players understand. They know how well they’ll have to play. They know they’re going to have to play as well as they can play against a good Denmark side to get the result we want. They understand what to do.’
