Enjoy Scotland's next World Cup adventure - it will be over before you know it

That isn’t necessarily the pessimistic input it might seem. Scotland are on paper better set for at least a generation to reach a World Cup finals. Their group, while challenging, doesn’t contain a seemingly insurmountable obstacle in the shape of a Germany or England or even Spain, who won the last regulation qualifying group Scotland were involved in despite losing 2-0 at Hampden.

No, the advice is simply sensible. Because it really will be over in a flash compared to previous such campaigns, which in the past sometimes sprawled across seasons and seemed akin to long-running military operations.

Take, for example, the last time Scotland qualified for a World Cup. The France '98 campaign ran for 406 days between Scotland kicking off against Austria in Vienna and its conclusion against Latvia at Celtic Park, when goals from Kevin Gallacher and Gordon Durie made it mission accomplished.

The latest of seven since bids to emulate this achievement kicks off against Denmark in Parken stadium this evening. We will know how Scotland have fared in just 74 days’ time, when they bring the campaign to a conclusion against the same opponents at Hampden.

The sharpest football minds are unsure what to make of this truncated format. There is even mild disagreement between members of the Danish coaching staff. Speaking yesterday at the Danish HQ in Helsingor, manager Brian Riemer welcomed the change, which has been triggered by the crowded football fixtures calendar and expanded 48-team World Cup.

Scotland and Denmark both missing familiar names

“I actually like the system because I remember from my younger days, when I was watching the qualification games, when they came to the last one, I forgot the result of the first one!” he said. “Obviously, many times it wasn't even the same players who ended up qualifying the team as they started.”

When speaking to The Scotsman last week, meanwhile, Morten Wieghorst, one of Riemer’s assistants, suggested it could be problematic.

He argued that a player could potentially miss the entire campaign with an ill-timed hamstring strain. Although injury is not the reason for his absence, 33-year-old Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen won’t be involved against Scotland. He is currently club-less after leaving Manchester United. Even if he finds a new team before the next set of qualifiers, and returns to the squad, he will have already missed a third of qualifying. The same applies to Scotland full-backs Anthony Ralston and Kieran Tierney, who have stayed in Glasgow and have been ruled out of both Denmark and Belarus games.

Clarke has been non-committal when asked for his thoughts on the new qualifying arrangement. Ask me in 74 days' time, seems to be his stance.

It's not long to find the winning habit again. It’s not long to hope players such as Aaron Hickey can reach the match fitness level required. It’s not long for the manager to win back some of the favour that’s been lost over the course of the last 18 months, when the high of qualification for Euro 2024 seemed to send Scotland into a tailspin. They have won just five out of 22 matches since. A more upbeat way to look at it, perhaps, is that four of these victories have come in the last six outings, including away in Athens and Warsaw.

The time has come for Clarke to consider his legacy in what is almost certainly to prove his last campaign in charge. He is on the brink of surpassing Craig Brown’s record tenure of 71 matches though, typically, the manager is taking nothing for granted.

What happened the last time Scotland visited the Parken

“I’ve got to get there first,” he smiled after being asked about the prospect at last week’s squad announcement – Clarke is currently at 68.

The answers perhaps betrayed some trepidation ahead of an opening doubleheader that comprises two very different challenges. After the electric atmosphere guaranteed whenever Denmark play at home in their steep-sided stadium, Clarke takes his side to Hungary for a clash against Belarus that is being staged behind closed doors in an unwelcome echo of the Covid-19 years. Scotland’s arrival in Copenhagen is another reminder of those bleak years.

On the last occasion Scotland played here, Clarke’s options were severely impacted by several players being kept at home after positive Covid tests. The Scots turned up with a squad of only 16 outfield players, not one of whom was a right back. It meant Andy Robertson filling in there while Kieran Tierney was deployed on the left in a back four that didn’t survive past half-time, with Scotland having endured a torrid opening 45 minutes. They were 2-0 down inside 15 minutes.

The key is so start strongly. “You have to ready,” said Riemer yesterday, with reference to the short campaign. There is little margin for error. Scotland cannot afford to be so slipshod again. They cannot afford to wilt in the heat like the they did on their previous visit to Copenhagen.

The Scots have lost their last three matches in the Danish capital. Their last win was 50 years ago this week, when a goal from Joe Harper, then with Hibs, secured a 1-0 European Championship qualifying win on a night that went down in infamy for what occurred afterwards. Harper and four teammates, including Billy Bremner, were carpeted for heading out to celebrate in Bonaparte’s nightclub. All five players were handed sine die international bans, although two, Harper among them, were later reprieved.

Sometimes it feels as though Scotland have been served with an endless World Cup ban. “Give them a finger, they will take a hand,” Riemer said in his pre-match press conference in admiration of what he perceived as the opposition’s ability to take an opportunity, which is a Scotland not everyone, least of all their fans, will recognise. Grabbing this chance, the final one in the case of Clarke as well as many of his players, is paramount.