Scotland are just one victory away from a place at Euro 2020 and reaching a major tournament for the first time in over two decades.
The country’s 22-year wait will come to an end at the Rajko Mitic Stadium if Steve Clarke’s men beat Serbia in Thursday’s winner-takes-all play-off final.
Ahead of the game, here’s what both managers and the Scotland captain had to say.
Andy Robertson
The Liverpool star knows Scotland are carrying the hopes of a nation on their shoulders in Belgrade – but the skipper confessed he cannot yet contemplate his own dreams of leading the team out at Euro 2020.
Robertson is among a generation of Scotland supporters who cannot remember seeing their team play at a major tournament.
The Liverpool left-back was only four when Colin Hendry strode out alongside Brazil captain Dunga for the opening game of the 1998 World Cup in France, but he has the chance to match that feat next summer at Hampden – which will host three matches – if his side can maintain an eight-game unbeaten streak and topple the Serbs.
“To be honest I won’t let myself think about that until it’s done,” he said.
“For me, being captain of my country, captaining these boys with me right now, it’s the proudest thing I will ever do in football.
“But I’m not letting myself think about walking out at Hampden next summer. That’s firmly in the back of my mind and I’ll focus on that hopefully on Friday morning when it’s a reality.
“I was four the last time Scotland got to the World Cup. My whole generation has missed out on seeing Scotland reach a major tournament.
“I look back at old videos and have talked to my family about how good it was to see the Tartan Army at tournaments.
“I remember my manager at Liverpool talking about how fun they were in Germany when he was a little boy during the World Cup.
“We know how big a fan base we have and how passionate they are. We want to see them at a major tournament and we’re the next group of lads who can go achieve that.
“We need to carry that with us as it definitely gives you that added incentive tomorrow night to make five million people back home happy.”
Robertson’s credentials for dealing with pressure are there for all to see having helped Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield team battle to glory at Premier League, European and world level.
He is the shining star in Clarke’s squad but the 26-year-old is adamant Scotland do not lack bottle on the big stage.
“A lot of the lads have played in play-off finals,” said the former Queen’s Park, Dundee United and Hull defender.
“I know how much pressure there are in those games. John McGinn scored for Villa in one.
“I’ve seen Callum McGregor, Kieran Tierney and Ryan Jack play in Europe at the highest level, I’ve seen Scott McTominay’s performances against PSG.
“Kenny McLean got promoted with Norwich, so there are a whole list of lads who have produced on the big occasion.
“It’s easy to look at me because I’ve won trophies and stuff but forget about me, I look at the other lads and know when the big occasion comes they don’t shy away.
“We will go out there and whether it’s 90 minutes or 120 we need to come away with no regrets. We need to walk off thinking, ‘OK, we did our all there’.
“We believe if we do that, it will be enough. If it’s not, we’ll need to deal with that.
“It’s all been positive going into this game and we believe if we can put in the kind of performances we have done over the last couple of months it will be good enough to win the game.”
Steve Clarke
The Scotland manager has urged his team to make sure they leave Belgrade with no regrets.
He said: “When you go into every game (no regrets) is obviously a message you want to give, that you leave everything out there on the pitch.
“This game, with its magnitude, means I don’t need to say that because the players understand if they come off the pitch with regrets then they will never forget that night.
The lads are focused. We understand the task in hand.
“You go out there, you do your best, you do everything you can and hopefully the footballing gods give you a little bit of luck, they smile on you a bit and you get the right result.”
He added: “There is definitely a generation that has missed that atmosphere and feeling you get as a nation when you get to one of these tournaments, that proud feeling, so hopefully this group can deliver.
“The lads are very focused. We understand the task in hand. But for us, it’s business as usual. It’s a game of football.
“We know we can only win or lose, we know the magnitude of the prize at the end of it. But ultimately we have to rely on the principles of the way we’ve been playing in recent matches.
“I think the players are grounded. There’s no point us getting carried away with ourselves.
“As a nation we’ve been here often enough before without getting over the line so this group of players understand what’s at stake and is needed to get it done this time.”
Ljubisa Tumbakovic
The Serbia boss has warned Scotland that Aleksandar Mitrovic is not the only danger man he has ready to shoot down the Tartan Army’s Euro 2020 hopes.
The Fulham striker needs just two goals to equal his country’s international scoring record having hit 36 in 59 appearances so far.
It’s the biggest match of my career…we will do everything possible to bring Scotland under control.
But Tumbakovic says Steve Clarke will be making a mistake if he thinks the 26-year-old is the only threat when they meet.
“We have no secret aces up our sleeves,” said the Eagles boss. “Each of the players can do equally as good as Mitrovic can.
“In the past few months, Mitrovic has been the guy scoring the goals but that doesn’t mean that another player can’t do the same.
“It’s probably the case that our opponents aren’t quite familiar with our players so they will probably try to close down all of them.”
The 68-year-old added: “Yes it’s the biggest match of my coaching career.
“For someone of my age I’d say that is one of the most important matches I’ve been involved in.
“We have also played a number of matches that have been equally decisive but this has special importance and significance.
“We have been looking at the Scots for a long time and we will do everything possible to bring them under control.
“That’s part of our strategy and if we’re successful in this we will without doubt achieve the result we want.”