Scotland's World Cup mojo drains away at Hampden as hosts can't muster a show

This still didn't alter the fact that there wasn't much to write home about until Genk forward Junya Ito scored with six minutes left, securing his side’s sixth win in their last seven meetings against European opposition.

Pity the Netherlands and whoever emerges from the Sweden v Poland play-off final. They will form two of Japan’s opponents in Group F at this summer's World Cup. The Blue Samurai, whose starting XI players were all drawn from European teams, are ranked 19 in the world for a reason. They are heading to North America with confidence.

It might be harder to make such a case for Scotland although there is still time for Steve Clarke's side to get their mojo back and appease hard-to-please supporters, some of whom harshly booed the players off at the end.

Amid all the pre-World Cup hype, it was as if the hosts forgot to put on a show. The Scotland players thought about doing a lap of the pitch to acknowledge the fans before they realised the supporters had already almost all left. They will see some of them again in Liverpool on Tuesday when Scotland face Ivory Coast, who are fresh off a 4-0 win over South Korea. Clarke admitted afterwards that Scotland will have to improve in the final third, although tell us something we don’t already know.

George Hirst, a lively second half substitute, rippled the side-netting and Scott McTominay was denied by a save Zion Suzuki, the Japan 'keeper, knew little about.

John McGinn’s clipped cross from the right had fallen in an inviting spot. Although the stretching McTominay managed to get a foot to the ball, he couldn't direct it away from the ‘keeper, whose reflexes were nevertheless tested. Suzuki palmed it onto the post and somehow the ball spun out rather than into the net. It was an early sign that not everything would go Scotland’s way on an evening when they were returning to earth in every sense of the phrase.

Without harping on about overhead kicks, this McTominay chance was about one tenth as difficult as the one the Napoli star scored at a similarly early stage of his last appearance at Hampden against Denmark.

It was not just about looking good in the new coral coloured retro away kit; Clarke needed to see some tangible results as well. Nathan Patterson tried hard on that count but looks like what he is, a promising full back not getting anywhere near enough minutes for his club.

Scotland are crying out for cover in that area given Aaron Hickey’s fitness struggles. Hopes are high that he will have recovered from his latest hamstring injury but there needs to be a contingency plan. Celtic’s Daizen Maeda gave him a torrid time.

Will someone also please think of poor old Kenny McLean. Introduced as “from the halfway line, Kenny McLean” when the teams were read out by the Tannoy Man before kick-off, he now must accept that fans will scream “shoooooot!” whenever he has the ball in basically any part of the pitch. He wisely kept things very simple indeed and ended up with the man of the match award. He was in the right place at the right time to clear a dangerous ball at the back post with half an hour left as Japan began turning the screw.

This was not the most exciting match

As a team exercise, it was probably more about re-establishing the squad environment, getting a feel for the turf and remembering how cold Hampden can get even on bright Spring evenings. Miami in June it wasn’t.

There was not much in the way of excitement to warm the cockles. Amazingly, 130 days have passed since That night v Denmark. The memories remain vivid, with one in particular is daubed on the bricks of a gable end nearby. However, Scotland cannot rely forever on that fabled evening when goals were flying in from all angles. Clarke knows that better than anybody.

He tried different approaches, including using Tommy Conway on the left flank. Although he has been excelling there for Middlesbrough recently, he has presumably managed more touches of the ball. Even in scarlet red, as the SFA insists on describing the popular new strip's colour, he managed to seem invisible in the opening half. Not his fault necessarily. Scotland just could not get him into the action. He even changed wings shortly before half time in a bid to become more involved. Back on the left in the second, he fared slightly better.

Japan made three changes at the interval, but Clarke resisted any such urge. The managers had agreed pre-match to allow as many as 11 substitutes. Clarke got into his stride in this respect and started switching things around just after the hour mark. John McGinn departed for Ryan Christie, Lyndon Dykes made way for Hirst.

Scotland had been making a better fist of things, even before the changes. A header from McTominay went narrowly over and Suzuki was happy to turn a free kick effort from the Napoli midfielder over the bar. Japan were probing too.

Kaoru Mitoma curled a shot just past the far post while Ito, who replaced Yuito Suzuki after 63 minutes, offered a glimpse of his menace when weaving through the Scottish defence.

Angus Gunn, the rusty Nottingham Forest goalkeeper, spread himself well to block but looked disappointed with himself after 84 minutes, when he could only deflect a shot from the same player into the net after a sweeping Japan move. Hampden started emptying as World Cup fever temporarily drained away.