Patient, precise, clinical - are Scotland ready to make World Cup mark?

By

BBC Scotland's chief sports writer at Sports Illustrated Stadium

Fifteen minutes before Scotland began taking Bolivia to the cleaners at the Sports Illustrated Stadium, a weather warning was issued by New Jersey's department of environmental protection. Code Orange, apparently.

Code Orange? Air quality alert. Pollution central.

The temperature had just hit 32.7 degrees, a potential problem for those with respiratory conditions, for elderly folk, and - we feared - for Scottish footballers and for those sweaty foot soldiers following them.

Bolivia, we knew, were no great shakes. Their weak attempt to qualify for the World Cup was enough evidence of that.

But suffocating conditions should be an advantage to a side that play home games in Tarija, 6,000 feet above sea level, and in the city in the sky that is El Alto at 13,600 feet. They beat Chile last June and Brazil last September in the latter.

The problem for Bolivia was not the heat that mother nature was inflicting on them - it was the heat they were getting from Scotland, who were patient, precise and clinical.

As an opponent, the South Americans were a perfect match, a useful punchbag in boxing parlance, but this was a pleasing victory and another four goals to whet the appetite before the truly big stuff starts to happen next Saturday night.

It might be argued that Scotland did not learn much about themselves against such moderate opponents, but Scotland don't need to learn any more about themselves that they do not already know.

Save for the odd position, they are settled and vastly experienced.

This was not intended as a journey of discovery; it was a game to get their spirits up ahead of the main work ahead and that is exactly what it became. Unlike last weekend there were no injuries. Another plus.

Scotland picked their moments to strike and were pretty ruthless when they did.

Bolivia posed no threat. No World Cup to give them an edge, no players with much about them, no real answer to Scotland's focus.

You can caveat the hell out of this if you wish - and restraint is no bad thing - but scoring the number of goals Steve Clarke's side did, creating the number of the chances they did, and adapting to the temperatures with relative ease was impressive and heartening before Haiti (Sunday, 14 June - 02:00 BST, live on the BBC).

Haiti will be more physical, more athletic, more pacy and more threatening, but Scotland will have gained a lot of belief.

On a sweltering day, they could not play at a breakneck speed, could not bring that physical intensity to bear, and the quieter tempo almost suited them. It allowed them to think their way through rather than triumph through fitness and desire.

Scott McTominay was at the heart of an intelligent first-half performance before the 4-0 lead and the cavalry coming off the bench made it a bit ragged.

In building their lead, Scotland did not rush their passes, didn't force the issue with their aggression. They were more technical, waiting for space to open up before striking.

Ryan Christie and Andy Robertson teed up Lawrence Shankland for a headed opener that set them on their way. Since September, he has not gone more than two consecutive games without scoring.

Making Shankland a starter against Haiti is the greatest no-brainer in the history of footballing no-brainers.

He is the striker Scotland has been crying out for for an awfully long time, an instinctive and clever finisher, a guy who can score different types of goals. He has scored 24 in 38 games this season and 10 in 12 since the turn of the year.

At precisely the right time, Shankland is playing the football of his life.

He had Che Adams as a partner - a two up front that the manager has been talking about for a little while now. It worked.

Clarke said later that he has "fantastic problems" in deciding who starts against Haiti. He probably already knows, but seeing so many of his players making a case is not a bad place to be.

McTominay got the second and Adams the third and fourth following fine work from Ben Gannon-Doak, who was another positive for Clarke.

His run downfield was a big part of Adams' fourth. The Bournemouth youngster is still raw, still searching for consistency with his final ball, but he looked sharper here.

The head coach said Gannon-Doak got so excited before the Curacao game that it ran away from him. He looks a real contender again.

Adams is a curious sort, a player Clarke cherishes but who has never evoked major support among the Tartan Army. He is a willing and hard-working striker, a selfless sort, but not a natural goalscorer.

Here, though, his partnership with Shankland looked convincing. They looked to have a burgeoning understanding. The smart money has to be on both of them to start next Saturday.

Eight goals in two games is a handsome way to enter the tournament. This preparation was never about Curacao and Bolivia, but it was about getting enough positivity to propel Scotland into Haiti week. They have that.

Clarke was reluctant to big things up in the aftermath, but he was pleased, you could tell. Four years ago he led his team into the Euros on the back of demoralising form.

It feels different now. Dangerous talk, of course, but they're in decent fettle one week out from the biggest game of their international lives.