Even Ronald Koeman and Virgil van Dijk could not believe Scotland did not manage to strike the net during a 4-0 defeat which was not quite as one-sided as the end scoreline suggests.

Yes, the Netherlands cut loose in the final 20 minutes, scoring goals two, three and four in the dying stages. But, until then, it was a relatively level encounter between two teams stepping up their preparations for the looming European Championships.

Koeman, the Oranje coach, agrees that the result flattered the hosts in Amsterdam. For opposite number Steve Clarke, meanwhile, the solution to Scotland’s striker issues seems to baffle the former Kilmarnock coach.

Does Clarke opt for the mobility and work-rate of Che Adams? The targetman talents of Lyndon Dykes? Or, perhaps, the pure goalscoring skill of Lawrence Shankland?

It was the latter who received the nod in the Dutch capital. And while the reported Rangers target’s performance will be remembered for that miss – clipping the bar when the goal was at his mercy – Scotland team-mate John McGinn insists that a very uncharacteristic error should not distract from what was a ‘outstanding’ centre-forward’s display up against perhaps the finest defender on planet earth.