Liechtenstein v Scotland: The no-win game that’s become must-win for Steve Clarke

For context, only five sides are ranked lower than Liechtenstein in the world.

One of those is San Marino, who beat them home and away in the recent Nations League.

The tiny nation, with a population similar to Greenock, only have a handful of professional players.

They played away to Wales on Friday night in World Cup qualification and lost 3-0, failing to fire a shot, or even get a touch in the Welsh box.

After that defeat in Cardiff, the Liechtenstein players were not afforded a chartered plane, but flew home via Amsterdam to Zurich, mixing and mingling with the Tartan Army in the departure gates and stingy economy class seats.

‘Honestly lads, just shoot from anywhere,’ was the gist of some of the patter, a gallows nod to Scotland’s injury crisis in the goalkeeping department.

The Liechtenstein squad were even hauling massive boxes of kit and luggage from the belts themselves and on to trolleys, wheeling it all out of Zurich airport.

A far cry from the elite end of the game.

Liechtenstein will sit deep and look to frustrate Scotland on the narrow Rheinstadion pitch, it’s going to be a battle in the heart of the Alps and one that feels more meaningful than it was four days ago.