Derby County defender Craig Forsyth was surprised when Scotland manager Gordon Strachan told him he would be starting against Ireland in Saturday’s pivotal Euro 2016 qualifier.
The 26-year-old left back, chosen ahead of Andy Robertson and Steven Whittaker, made his full competitive debut in the 1-1 draw in front of 49,000 supporters at the Aviva Stadium.
The former Dundee and Watford player looked nervous during a testing 90 minutes but will take a huge amount of confidence from featuring in such an important international.
He said: “It was only in the morning that I found out I was starting.
“There was a team meeting and the manager named the side. He went through the set-pieces and I have to confess it was a bit of a surprise for me.
“But I was delighted to finally make my competitive debut.
“Before the game I had a little bit of nerves, but I think that’s only natural. It was the magnitude of the game, but I just tried to play my natural way.”
Forsyth accepted his performance was not his best, but believes he has more to offer in a Scotland jersey in the future.
He said: “I thought I did all right. I could’ve done a bit better on the ball, I had a few sloppy passes and there was one where I gave them a breakaway. But overall I was quite happy with how I played.
“We’re in the middle of the off- season and I still think I can get sharper and fitter. But I think the Qatar game hopefully showed what I can do and I felt I did all right defensively against Ireland.”
Forsyth has experience of playing in the richest game in football having featured for Derby in the 2014 Championship play-off final against Queens Park Rangers.
But the defender said Saturday’s match was a more nerve-wracking experience.
He said: “This was probably above it if only because of the occasion and what it meant to everybody. It probably was my biggest game so far.
“It was obviously a massive international, it’s different from club level, and there was so much at stake. The atmosphere and the occasion, it was huge, while their supporters and ours were lively.”