Steve Clarke teased the Tartan Army ahead of this first warm-up game for the Euros by suggesting he would be trying ‘something a little different’, setting social media ablaze with theories about what the Scotland manager might have up his sleeve.

Would Craig Gordon be in between the sticks? Would it be a back four? Perhaps a midfield diamond? Would Lewis Ferguson get a chance from the start to stake his claim?

In typical Clarke style though, the tweak was ultimately understated, with Lawrence Shankland coming in to spearhead the attack, and the rest of the team remaining broadly as it normally is. In terms of shape, at least.

And you could tell. The Scots started the game in hugely impressive fashion, with the understanding they have built up between them as a settled group evident from the off.

In the home of total football, Scotland came to play the Dutch at their own game, and without overegging the Stroopwafel, they had some success in doing so. They looked confident, comfortable, and calmly retained possession in a manner that Scottish sides have often failed to when playing in such arenas.

Shankland was playing his part, too. There have been doubts about his athleticism and question marks surrounding whether his mobility would allow him to effectively lead the line for his country, but he was working hard early on, pressing Nathan Ake into a couple of errors and winning a couple of handy free kicks.

When you are a Scotland striker, particularly away from home at a top 10 ranked side, making the most of whatever touches come your way is a major part of the job description, and the Hearts striker started well in this regard too.

His sharp first-time pass released Andy Robertson down the left before some tidy link-up play with Nathan Patterson gave him his first sight of goal, the full back eventually crossing for Shankland to nod over.

The reason why so many Scottish football fans have been keen to see Shankland drafted into the Scotland side is because of his predatory instincts in the penalty area, which for all the qualities that both Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams bring to the party, marks him out as different to either.

He was in the right place as Scotland fashioned the best chance of the half, as the outstanding Billy Gilmour’s cross was met by Ryan Christie’s diving header and tipped brilliantly onto the bar by Dutch goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

The ball dropped where Shankland had anticipated, but while in the Scottish Premiership he may have had a tap in, here he had Virgil van Dijk reacting first to nip in and knock the ball to safety.

From there, he rather flitted in and out of the match either side of Tijjani Reijnder’s opening goal until Scotland’s hugely effective high press forced a couple of errors from the Dutch backline.

First, it was Gilmour who rushed Reijnders into ceding possession, but when the ball landed at Shankland, he opted to roll it back for Gilmour to have a shot rather than having the confidence to turn and take it on himself, as he may have done in a Hearts jersey.

The midfielder’s effort was deflected wide, and the chance was gone, but it was the next occasion that Scotland won it high that Shankland would be presented with the moment he must have been dreaming about since Clarke informed him he was being given the nod here.

This time, it was McTominay who forced the error, deflecting Mats Wieffer’s attempted pass into Shankland’s path, and the striker was in. He had time to size up his finish, but only found the top of Flekken’s bar when you would have put your house on him gobbling up at the opportunity.

He was crestfallen, and you sensed there and then that not only did he feel he had blown Scotland’s best chance, but his own chance to show that he should be leading the line come that opening game of the Euros against Germany.

In Shankland’s defence, he wasn’t alone in his profligacy. John McGinn and McTominay, so often the goal heroes for Scotland, also missed glaring opportunities, and no one is writing them off.

It was the story alas of the evening for Scotland, but it is his ruthlessness that is Shankland’s calling card, and the biggest argument for him to be in the side. Both he, and his teammates, will have to find a killer instinct for the Euros, otherwise all of the stellar work between the boxes on display here will count for little.

The Dutch hammered home the point, as Gini Wijnaldum headed home their second after the Scotland defence momentarily lost their shape, and then, unmarked substitute Wout Weghorst headed home from a simple corner lobbed into the middle of the box. Unbelievably, more slack defending allowed Donyell Malen to add a quickfire fourth.

That clinical edge was the difference between the sides on the night, and as strange as it may seem after such a thumping defeat, there wasn’t a whole lot else between them.

This was a chastening lesson. Hopefully Shankland, and Scotland, will be better for the experience.