Giovani Dos Santos’ early goal saw Scotland beaten 1-0 by World Cup-bound Mexico at the Azteca Stadium on Saturday evening.
Seven players from Alex McLeish’s makeshift squad had made their debuts in the 2-0 loss to Peru in Lima on Tuesday night, and two more new faces – keepers Jon McLaughlin and his interval replacement Scott Bain – did so against the Mexicans who proved too strong and cohesive.
Dos Santos scored what proved to be the winner with a shot in the 12th minute and the home side had several chances to increase their lead, hitting the woodwork twice, albeit the spirited Scots improved markedly after the break and might have sneaked a draw had Oli McBurnie’s header not smacked the post.
The two matches will not linger long in the minds of those with a Scottish persuasion and with so many regulars absent, and two hugely inexperienced teams fielded in both games, it is difficult for McLeish to draw too many conclusions as he plans for the Nations League games against Albania and Israel later in the year.
The stadium, which hosted the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finals and which also witnessed Maradona’s Hand of God goal against England in the quarter-final of the 1986 tournament, took time to fill up but the excited home fans were looking for encouragement from their side before they fly out to Russia.