Jordan bemoans the lack of Young Lions
England legends have been positively gushing about the potential of their young stars following Callum Hudson-Odoi and Jadon Sancho gravitating into the national squad.
The two 18-year-olds, of Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund respectively, were both members of the Under17 World Cup-winning side, and their progression is seen as evidence of great things to come.
North of the border, though, it is a different story, and Scotland icon Joe Jordan is decidedly downbeat about what lies on the horizon for the Tartan Army.
“What I look at, and get depressed about, isn’t the present but the future,” said Jordan, who won 52 caps and played at three World Cup Finals in his prime.
“What I want to know is where are we going? What is the future for Scotland?
“For a nation like ours, it’s a worry.
“I look at the faces on the walls of the Hall of Fame at Hampden and think: ‘Christ! We had some players.’
“But now we’re worrying about when we’re ever going to get to a Finals again, which brings us to youth development and the channelling of their ability to produce a group of players who can match the best.
“When I look at the era that came before mine, I would see genuinely great players, like Dave Mackay and other phenomenal individuals.
“I know the Scottish players I played with certainly didn’t have an inferiority complex, that’s for sure.”
Scotland’s last appearance in a major finals was at the World Cup in 1998 when Craig Brown led the country to France.
Fail to win through this Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, and it will be a minimum of 22 years between appearances.
“It is crazy,” said the 67-year-old, famously the only Scot to score at three World Cup Finals and a hero for winning the penalty which helped take Ally MacLeod’s side to Argentina in 1978.
“We are talking about successive generations of players and fans who haven’t had the chance to go to a Euros or a World Cup.
“So it has to be brought to an end.
“But the only way we can do that is by producing the players capable of getting there and making a mark on the biggest stage.
“Once Scotland get into the way of being in a World Cup, then they can handle situations.
“You learn from it and say: ‘That won’t happen again’.
“You are going in with a group of players who have played in tournaments, and know how to handle friendly games, a training camp, staying in a hotel.
“There is a new group comes in with them, and that group learns from these boys and the experience they have.
“Then it is passed on and passed on.
“That just doesn’t happen now.”