By Colin Moffat

The 6-0 thrashing from the Netherlands in the second leg of the Euro 2004 play-off marks Scotland's worst international result in 42 years.

And the meek nature of the capitulation against the Dutch serves as a dire warning for those who were dreaming of a summer holiday to Portugal after the first leg win in Glasgow.

Scotland fans saw thier team crumble in Amsterdam

Scotland have now missed out on the last three major tournaments and the longer the drought continues, the harder it becomes to qualify.

Just ask our friends in Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Scots turned in a battling display to take a 1-0 lead to Amsterdam but were utterly outclassed in the return leg and left red-faced by the dazzling Dutch.

Before the qualifying campaign began, only the most optimistic of Tartan Army members would have predicted anything but a second-place finish behind Germany.

And after the embarrassment of an opening draw with the Faroe Islands and an away loss to Lithuania, even that looked beyond Berti Vogts' team.

Having stumbled into the play-offs with an unconvincing 1-0 win over Lithuania, it seemed far-fetched to suggest we could overcome the Dutch.

When the pairings were made, the Netherlands were ranked the fifth-best side in the world. Scotland were 58th on the Fifa list.

To that end, Scotland have come as far as any right-minded supporter could hope to expect.

But the slovenly display in Amsterdam has set alarm bells ringing in a football mad nation now worried that World Cups and European Championships will now be spent simply cheering on whoever England are up against.

The Netherlands could only manage five goals against Moldova in qualifying and three at home to Belarus.

High-scoring games are a rarity at international level, with lowly teams like the Faroe Islands, Andorra, Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein demonstrating that organisation can frustrate the best players in Europe and keep goal difference respectable.

Indeed, the only team to concede more goals in a game in the race for Portugal was Luxembourg, who shipped seven to Romania.

One look at the Dutch bench on Wednesday, which included stars from AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, illustrated the stern task facing Scotland.

But, protecting a 1-0 lead, the Tartan Army had every right to hope for a more spirited showing in Amsterdam.

Scotland must hope players like James McFadden develop

Three of the six goals were conceded from set-pieces where the Scottish defence was posted missing and goalkeeper Rab Douglas was left flapping at fresh air.

To leave players like Ruud van Nistelrooy unattended in the penalty area is simply inexcusable.

While Vogts has a paucity of playing talent to draw from, the manager can perhaps be accused of a tactical naivety on Wednesday.

The suspended Christian Dailly was a big miss for Scotland but to replace the West Ham man with Gavin Rae was a mistake.

Rae had not played in three weeks due to injury and is not a defensive player in Dailly's mould. Neither is Darren Fletcher who was switched to central midfield after Rae's poor start.

Vogts may have been better off deploying a third central defender to play Dailly's protective role - it might have made the Dutch work harder for the win.

The draw for World Cup qualifying is made next month and Scotland face the possibility of falling among the third seeds - making the task of getting to Germany in 2006 all the harder.

Vogts must hope that promising players like Fletcher, James McFadden, Kenny Miller and Stephen Pearson can continue to develop.

And Scottish fans must pray that these youngsters can deliver a brighter future - if they haven't been traumatised by the sad events in Amsterdam.