The onus is now on Scotland to qualify directly for the World Cup after their Nations League play-off chance evaporated.
That is the view of national team boss Steve Clarke, who will keep a watchful eye on the draw on December 7 for the World Cup qualifiers.
Scotland will be among the third seeds for the draw, with potential for yet another rematch with Israel as they are in pot four.
Defeat in Netanya on Wednesday night means Scotland will not have the fall-back of a play-off place – the method which helped them get to the European Championships – for 2022.
Clarke said: “The play-off route via the Nations League has gone – we’ll just need to qualify from the group. That has got to be the aim.
“It’s a reminder of how far we’ve come and how hard we need to work to be competitive in these games.”
Hear from David Marshall following tonight’s match in Netanya.
➡️ Match report: https://t.co/EVqqgPM0ij#ISRSCO pic.twitter.com/clNjrfOO7b
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) November 18, 2020
“We are hoping for a nice draw. It’s a bit unusual to have qualifiers before then going to the Euros but there’s no reason we can’t go in to these games with a lot of confidence and belief.
“This job is a different type of challenge to when I first came in. It’s always a challenge if you want to improve. We want to go and compete in these games. I have a group of players who want to improve. They want to be here.”
In the intervening period, the challenge is on now for players to secure their places in the 23-man squad for next summer.
Ryan Fraser missed out through injury in this camp and would hope to return, while Grant Hanley was the other drop-out before the squad left Scotland.
John Fleck has been missing due to a back problem sustained during the October internationals, while there are a number of players on the fringes of the setup who will be determined to make themselves must-picks by the time the tournament comes around.
Clarke added: “Israel was our third game in less than a week and every single player was fit and available for selection. That’s probably the first time that’s ever happened. There will be a fight to be in the 23 this summer.
“That is what we want, that is the target for them. They are all going back to their clubs but they’ll need to play well and stay fit and healthy.
“Of course we are thinking about the summer but the next stage for them is these qualifiers in March. That’s the road I’m going down.”
While the defeats to Israel and Slovakia made it a disappointing end to the international break, Scotland will take great heart from ending their long wait for a major tournament.
The penalty shoot-out victory over Serbia ensured Scotland will take their place in a group with England, Croatia and Czech Republic next summer, with the latter two games due to be played at Hampden Park.
Clarke said: “It’s been a very intense 10 days. I’ll go home and probably sleep for three days.
“I’ll take the time to relax, reintroduce myself to my wife, children and grandchildren. That’s my first step.
“I’ve not really had time to sit and analyse things. When I came in I spoke about the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup in 1990 as a player. Does this make up for erasing it, I don’t know.
“It’s a different kind of feeling as a manager. I am sure we will enjoy it in the coming weeks, maybe ask me again after the World Cup draw in December and I might have an answer by then.
“I don’t think we really appreciated the feeling back home. Being such a long way away the whole time, we’d only get little snippets of it. But we know we achieved something big last Thursday.”
