Euro 2024 offered up so many regrets for Scotland that it felt pointless homing in on one.
The exclusion of Ben Gannon-Doak through injury shortly before it all got underway was still hard to gloss over, though.
Then just 18, Steve Clarke felt the winger had shown enough in his limited runouts with Liverpool to merit a place in the provisional squad, only for fate to deal him a cruel hand.
Would Scotland have performed better if the manager had been able to utilise such explosive pace? We shall never know. But you suspect as much.
When Gannon-Doak finally made his full debut against Poland that September, it was clear that he offered something truly unique.
Truly, how many players can you honestly claim to be unplayable when they are fit and firing?
Ben Gannon-Doak gave an eye-catching performance in the opening World Cup win over Haiti
The constant worry for all concerned, of course, is the fitness of the young man from Dalry.
He managed 24 appearances for Middlesbrough after going there on loan two years back but was restricted to just nine games for Bournemouth last season, largely the result of doing his hamstring in the win over Denmark in November.
With just four of those coming for the Cherries since the turn of the year, it was legitimate to wonder if he was a little undercooked for all of this.
‘It was a bit of a rollercoaster,’ he recalled of the aftermath of the Denmark game. ‘It starts off on such a high when we win that game and all concern about injuries flies out the window.
‘Then you come down from that and find out the news that you need an operation and you can’t walk for a couple of weeks. And when you can walk, you realise it is only going to get harder.
‘So, it has been very up and down, but the motivation of wanting to be here made life a whole lot easier because I had something to work towards.
‘It is all part of the game, all part of the journey. But I would say it’s the most confident I have felt in my body, physically, since coming back from my injury, since coming into this warm-weather camp. I am feeling good.’
Gannon-Doak was full of running for Scotland and will be a key man against Morocco and Brazil
There was a moment in the second half against Haiti when Gannon-Doak slumped to the turf and the nation held its breath. He came off soon after and you feared that his wretched run of bad luck had put paid to his hopes of lighting up the world stage. Mercifully, all was well.
‘I was needing hooked,’ he insisted. ‘Both my calves decided to leave the stadium before me.
‘They cramped up a bit, so I was more than happy to make way and get my backside on that chair. I wasn’t surprised at all.’
As Haiti found to their cost, his ability on the front foot whenever he is on the pitch is frightening. A blur of energy to trouble the shrewdest defenders around. But Gannon-Doak’s enjoyment for the ugly part of the game is becoming ever more apparent.
After one burst back towards his own goal broke up a Haitian attack, his first pump with a couple of team-mates said much.
‘I think I was just buzzing about being able to be decent at defending for a change,’ he laughed. ‘Obviously, here was a bit of adrenaline.
‘(John) McGinn hammered me for celebrating winning a goal kick, so I don’t want to talk too much about that!
The winger revealed that John McGinn mocked him for celebrating winning a goal kick
‘I think that’s what playing in a Scotland shirt does to you. I really enjoyed it.
‘There’s not a better feeling than winning at anything, whether that is footy or on the PlayStation or whatever.
‘Winning is the best feeling ever and there’s not a better feeling than winning for your country.’
There’s an impressive maturity to him which belies his tender years. Off the field, he does things on his terms and at his pace. He has a job to so.
‘In the lead-up to the game I have my phone on “do not disturb”,’ he explained. ‘The more you hype up a game, the more you can let the occasion get to you.
‘It is better for me to take a step back and realise that I have been doing this all my life, it is not any different to playing in the park.
‘It is different, but that is the way I think about it to be prepared. The only time I was really nervous was at the national anthem. I got goosebumps when I was standing around that centre circle.’
