THE 200-strong advance party of the Tartan Army gathered in front of the big screen at the national stadium let out an involuntary Hampden roar. The sun had come out from behind the clouds and the live feed from the World Cup 2018 Preliminary Draw at the Konstantin Palace in St Petersburg had just paired Scotland against their Auld Enemy, England, for the first time in a qualifying group since the 1954 World Cup finals in Switzerland, and the first time in competitive action since those epic Euro 2000 qualifying play-off matches in November 1999.

These two sides, who famously contested the oldest international football match, had met more recently than that, of course. There had been a “friendly” in Glasgow as recently as last November, with Roy Hodgson’s side winning 3-1 at Celtic Park, but if there was any trepidation amongst the Scotland support, they weren’t showing it yesterday. Bravado or not, some chanting of “Easy, Easy” carried over the air in the south side of Glasgow.

Scotland’s attempts to return to the World Cup arena for the first time since 1998 will be many things, but it certainly won’t be that.

While it could take until the close of play today for the full fixture schedule to emerge – with the rest of the group comprising Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania and Malta – understandably those England matches were the only ones that anyone wanted to talk to Strachan about yesterday. But as much as the Scotland manager savours the prospect of a renewal of acquaintances with Roy Hogdson, there are a couple of other big games weighing on his mind first.

For now, that World Cup campaign is all too distant. A lot can happen before it kicks off in September 2016 so for now the mind of the Scotland manager is more preoccupied with events this September, and the Euro 2016 qualifying double header against Georgia and Germany.

“The sun came out just as England were pulled out and the place erupted,” said Strachan, seated amongst the throng for the duration. “The draw is good for every supporter in Scotland and England – they’re loving it. But I’m not that excited yet as it’s miles away and there is a huge job to be done right now. This is a nice wee break from thinking about Georgia and Germany but after tonight it’s back to thinking about those games. Even as I sit here, it is about Germany and Georgia – who is going to be fit, who is going to play?”

The Scotland manager, who featured for the nation on World Cup finals duty in 1982 and 1986, and was there as a fan for both play-off matches with England in November 1999, had declined the privilege of travelling to St Petersburg to chew the fat with Vladimir Putin and Sepp Blatter. He had spoken pre-draw about how the nation was due a stroke of good fortune in one of these qualifying draws but it was unclear last night whether this group could be regarded as such.

Considering the mock draw during the afternoon had presented Scotland with the challenge of the Netherlands and France, there were appreciative nods all round when travel-friendly and benign opponents such as Malta, Lithuania and Slovenia came out of the hat for Group F, but finding Slovakia from Pot Two and England from Pot One were decidedly tougher assignments.

We were left with either Spain or England from the top group of seeds, but this outcome gives Scotland the misfortune of landing the only two teams in the continent with 100 per cent records in qualifying for Euro 2016.

While this is our fifth qualifying joust in 25 years with Lithuania, Scotland have never met Slovakia in international combat, and this may not be the greatest time to do so.

Jan Kozak’s side, who feature former Ross County midfielder Filip Kiss, top qualifying Group C in the race for France 2016, ahead of Spain, who they beat 2-1 in October 2014 in Zilina. Judging the quality of teams based on their Fifa rankings is a dubious business, but for the record, England are ninth, Slovakia 15th, Scotland 29th, Slovenia 49th, Lithuania 110th with Malta bring up the rear in 158th.

“The coaching staff haven’t played against the other teams so that’s nice and fresh,” said Strachan. “There were a few groups I didn’t fancy because I was thinking, ‘We’ve played them before’. It’s good because we don’t have to go far. And culturally, they’re nice places to go and visit. Everything is good, in that sense.

“But the England fixtures will be for the fans. We wouldn’t have got that reaction from the supporters for any other country.

“But 18 months down the line nobody knows what will happen. The standard of performance of the different teams could change. Nobody knows who is going to be in the team. Are there going to be new players, new coaching staff?”

While Alan McRae, the new SFA president who headed the Russian delegation, was heard making bullish noises, and fans of both Scotland and England were doing likewise last night, there will be little triumphalism from either manager before these matches. Hodgson, another man who was noticeably keen to avoid looking too far ahead, said: “It is a good draw all round – I think Scotland will be happy with it and we are happy with it.”

One other quirk is that the trip to Slovakia will bring Strachan back to one of his least happy hunting grounds, the scene of the 5-0 Champions League first-leg defeat to Artmedia Bratislava 10 years ago tomorrow.

“Christ I forgot all about that,” he said. “That will get brought up now. Listen, we all survived that night. But it was a long, long, long, long night. They might invite me back in a few years’ time for the 20th anniversary!”