Scotland made it eight games unbeaten and three clean sheets on the bounce as they somehow withstood a second half Czech Republic siege to take a 1-0 win at Hampden.
Avoiding defeat in Serbia and qualifying for Euro 2020 would mean the best run since 1976 when the national team went nine without defeat.
Ryan Fraser gave Steve Clarke 's side an early lead in an open and entertaining match but the visitors spurned several huge chances to level.
Despite glaring misses from Matej Vydra and Tomas Soucek the Scots held on for three points that give them a commanding lead at the top of their Nations League group.
A win in Slovakia next month will secure promotion to League A where the real European big boys await.
Clarke made a number of changes from the side which beat Slovakia, with Greg Taylor coming in for the suspended Andy Robertson.
That meant John McGinn taking the armband as Callum McGregor and Ryan Jack returned.
Scotland lined up in the now familiar 3-5-2 shape though with Lyndon Dykes leading the line, and the big striker made an instant impact.
The Queens Park Rangers man showed great strength to hold off his man and had the intelligence to poke it through for Ryan Fraser to open the scoring.
The action was a lot more end-to-end than Clarke would probably have liked and Matej Vydra should have equalised when he somehow contrived to poke wide at the far post.
Scotland were getting joy by going direct though, with Tomas Vaclik forced to come off his line at pace to clear from Dykes.
The visitors turned up the heat after the break, with Lukasz Masopust close to turning in Jan Boril's cross at the far post.
David Marshall was forced into action as he denied Tomas Soucek on a corner.
It was John McGinn to the rescue on another set piece as he threw his body on the line to deny Alex Kral, with the visitors ever more in the ascendancy.
Soucek should have equalised in the dying stages but the midfielder somehow contrived to spoon it over the bar with the goal gaping.
Substitute Oli McBurnie almost put the gloss on a fine win but saw his shot cannon off the bar as the wait for his first Scotland goal goes on.
5 talking points
Dykes already invaluable
For years Scotland have been crying out for a quality striker, with the form and fitness of Leigh Griffiths a constant source of debate.
The emergence of Lyndon Dykes has been a real boon for Steve Clarke though and the QPR man already looks undroppable.
He leads the line with strength and power, and his assist showed no little skill.
Nothing friendly about it
In the midst of a global pandemic there has been plenty of scepticism about playing international football at all.
There's certainly an argument to be made there but there's no question the Nations League is far better than the interminable friendlies we used to see.
Right from the off this one had a great tempo, with the Czechs clearly in town to attack.
For Scotland to get such a comprehensive test ahead of that crucial Serbia play-off could be invaluable.
Nous of Fraser
While he didn't have the best of seasons for Bournemouth last year, there's no question that Ryan Fraser is one of Scotland's most talented players.
The switch to 3-5-2 has been effective so far but there's no natural place for the Newcastle man.
Tonight though he played just off Dykes in a big man-little man combo, showing great intelligence to get in and score the opener.
The Czechs know all about how effective that dynamic can be after the days of Jan Koller and Milan Baros - now if we could only dig out a Pavel Nedved.
Possession problems
There was a lot to like about this performance but the hosts' use of the ball was not one of them.
Scotland have often struggled in possession, failing to move it quickly enough to drag poorer teams out of their shape and being incapable of holding onto it against better opposition.
The Czechs aren't the team they were in the early to mid 2000s but they still knocked the ball around with confidence and in the second half Scotland struggled to gain a foothold.
Serbia warnings
Scotland struggled on set pieces all night and that could be a worry next month.
Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both relish aerial duels and will be supplied by the laser-guided left boot of Aleksandar Kolarov.
If we concede those kind of chances in Belgrade it could be a very long night.
