IF beating Croatia in Zagreb was not enough to restore some much-needed belief in what had been a beleaguered and bruised Scotland set-up, then a small but revealing anecdote emerged after the game which should add another little layer of encouragement.

Gordon Strachan had named 28 players in his initial squad and Barry Bannan was not among them. Understandably, the wee Aston Villa man took that as a cue to book a summer holiday in Spain and head off with some mates. So there he was, in Marbella, when suddenly his mobile chirped with a call from the Scottish Football Association. There had been call-offs – eventually seven of them. Could he pack his bags and join up with the squad after all?

Of course, all of this was before Friday night's resurrection in the Croatian capital, when the mood towards Scotland was much less sunny than it seems this morning. The squad was being hit by call-off after call-off. Bannan was around the beaches and bars with the boys. It would have been easy for him to find a way to bodyswerve the call-up, and even to have done so in a manner that would not have had him falling foul of Strachan. Bannan would have been entitled to expect that he would be a substitute, at best, for a team being told it was facing a heavy, heavy battering from one of the best sides in the world. Was it one he'd be better to miss? Not a chance. He couldn't get to the airport quickly enough.

Both he and Kris Commons were on 11 caps before Friday; Bannan is now one ahead. The comparison is topical because Commons tweeted a picture of himself jetting away on holiday only days before Bannan made the opposite journey to play for Scotland. Neither were in the original squad (the Celtic man being afforded a rest by Strachan), but Commons' subsequent retirement from international football to spend more time with his family looked questionable when he headed off on a lads' holiday of his own.

Russell Martin postponed his wedding in order to play in Zagreb. Bannan only pulled himself out of a holiday but, even so, it showed his commitment was beyond dispute. "It's been a crazy few weeks," he reflected. "I waited until the squad was announced before I organised any holidays. When I wasn't picked I booked a break in Spain. It was only when I was away that I got a call to say that there had been withdrawals and could I get back to Scotland. My answer was an immediate 'yes'. I was only in Marbella but no matter where I was I'd have jumped on a plane to get back. It means the world for me to play for my country and when the call comes I'll always turn up. I've been on holiday, got brought back from the beach and now played and won against a top team, Croatia. It just shows you.

"I was also meant to go away on a golfing holiday with some of the Villa boys this week but I cancelled that, too. Coming away and winning another cap with Scotland beats anything on a golf course."

Bannan was efficient enough on the left of the three in Strachan's 4-2-3-1 system in the Maksimir Stadium but what had been just as significant, for him, was the work he put in on Scottish and Croatian training fields in the days before the match. He caught Strachan's eye and impressed him, earning the rewards of not only a cap but a start.

"I was called up late but I worked really hard in training to try and impress, got my start and it was a great feeling to get a win. It shows if you are working hard in sessions then the gaffer will go with you. He's not the sort of guy to go with names and reputations; everyone has to earn their place."

Good fortune played a part for some as well, of course, given that Darren Fletcher, Scott Brown, Steven Fletcher, Gary Caldwell and possibly Charlie Mulgrew would surely all have started had they been available. Instead opportunists such as Bannan, Martin and Leigh Griffiths broke into the team and all contributed to Friday's excellent result. They all could be there from the start again in the next fixture, against England at Wembley. "It would be great to play in that, anything is possible now," said Bannan with admirable optimism. "On the back of the Croatia game we can go in with a bit of belief. We were written off coming to Zagreb and I'm sure that it will be similar going to Wembley with England favourites."

Still, England in a friendly at Wembley is not as daunting as Croatia in a World Cup qualifier in Zagreb. Strachan will be entirely familiar with each of Roy Hodgson's men, for one thing, and another organised, assured, composed performance could yield another heartening result. "We've done a lot of work this week on shape and formation and a lot of information on how they were going to play," said centre-half Grant Hanley, offering a hint at Strachan's thoroughness. "We've worked on our tactics and all that work paid off with the win. What are they ranked, fourth? We won't play many better teams than that. I think we can take massive confidence from it."

The winning goal in Zagreb was Robert Snodgrass's. Griffiths, Scotland's only out-and-out striker until Jordan Rhodes replaced him around the hour, did not have any chances but worked commendably and did nothing to play himself out of the squad.

By the time Scotland head to Wembley he will be a League One player, unless he leaves relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers. Could he last as Scotland's striker if only playing in League One, though? "I don't see why not," he said. "Jordan did it at Huddersfield. I just need to go down there, work hard and score goals. Obviously League One isn't the most competitive league in the world but there are a lot of games to be played and, hopefully, I can do enough to earn recognition from the manager.

"It has been an incredible season for me and this has just topped it off. If you had said at the start of the season that I would be starting a World Cup qualifier for Scotland, I would have snapped your hand off. I'd probably have laughed at you as well."