The journey starts here.
Today at Hampden, Steve Clarke and his players will attempt to get Scotland off to a flier against the Czech Republic.
But for a hairy moment yesterday on a short stretch of the M8 into Glasgow, the manager began to fret it might all begin with a car crash – an actual car crash.
The moment the team bus was spotted slipping on to the motorway from Glasgow Airport yesterday afternoon, Scotland’s players began to realise just what a fuss they have created back home.
And if the mayhem they caused on that short bus trip back to Hampden is any indicator of what lies ahead, now would seem like an appropriate time to buckle up for the ride.
Clarke doesn’t smile all that much but even he had to chuckle at the scenes he witnessed after flying back in from base camp in the north east of England.
Last night he said: “Everyone is good and we’re all looking forward to the game. We can’t wait, to be honest.
“It feels like everyone in the country is excited about the tournament and that’s fantastic.
“That said, I was a little bit nervous on the drive from the airport to the hotel when we were on the M8 and all the cars were slowing down to toot their horns. They were swerving to avoid each other but thankfully there were no incidents!
“Everyone wanted to wish us well and that’s great.
“We’re definitely aware of the magnitude of this game and know what it means to everyone.
“Like we keep saying, we just want to get to the game and get started – and hopefully we can achieve a little bit more. And do the country proud.”
As the clock ticks down towards 2pm, the excitement levels will be cranked up to 11.
It’s Clarke’s job to make sure his players keep their own heads when all around them are busy losing theirs.
It has been all about this moment since his first day in the job. And while these last couple of weeks might have dragged in for the rest of us, Clarke has been busy making the fine tweaks and adjustments he believes can get his team out of Group D and into the knockout stages for the first time in history.
Asked about these final preparations, Clarke said: “There has been a great atmosphere. The only day when I was a little bit nervous was when we first got together.
“When we went into the camp at Rockliffe on day one, the lads had a couple of days off and they had a lot of pent-up energy. That was the only day I got nervous.
“They were being what they were – competitive footballers blowing off a bit of steam after a few days kicking their heels
in the house. They couldn’t wait to get started.
“But since then we’ve done a lot of good tactical work. I think people know me by now and know I’m quite methodical.
“Obviously this is a game with a little bit of meaning – we’d all agree – but it’s just a game.
“We’ve prepared very similarly to how we prepared for all the other games throughout my time as head coach.
“Some have been good and some have been not so good. But ultimately we’ve achieved what we all wanted and we’re where we want to be by qualifying for a major tournament.
“I’m not going to suddenly change my methodology and my approach to matches. And hopefully that’ll be good enough to get us results right throughout this tournament.”
Yet the mood took a dark turn on Saturday evening when Clarke and his players watched a horror story developing in Copenhagen as Christian Eriksen battled for his life on the pitch at the Parken Stadium. Were it not for the heroics of the medics who attended to the stricken Dane, Scotland would have arrived home in the most distressing of circumstances.
Clarke said: “It was a horrible incident. Listen, the only thing for me to say on behalf of my staff, my players and everybody at the SFA is that we wish Christian Eriksen a full and quick recovery.
“I hope his family – who must have found the whole ordeal extremely traumatic – are OK.
“I hope they get a lot of support and they come through it together. That’s the main thing to say about the incident.
“It was just horrible. As soon as I saw the incident I actually turned the television off and I went for a walk. It just wasn’t nice to see.
“The Danes are in our World Cup group, so the vast majority of our players were watching the game and it was tough. All we can do is wish Christian Eriksen and his family all the best.
“What I would say is that I thought the TV coverage was really poor. They should have cut away from the incident as soon as it happened.
“Everyone could tell immediately it was serious so I didn’t think that part of it played out very well.”
And the telly remained switched off yesterday even though
England were getting Group D up and running with a 1-0 win over Croatia at Wembley. Clarke didn’t watch a kick of it.
As far as he’s concerned, Harry Kane and Luka Modric can wait. Right now, all that matters is getting Scotland’s players ready for the biggest match of their lives.
Clarke said: “I haven’t seen any of their match yet but all we can control is what we do.
“All I’m interested in is my players and our preparations for our first match against the Czech Republic.”
The journey starts here.
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