For those of a Caledonian persuasion, Scotland’s last meeting with Czech Republic is probably best forgotten.

A 2-2 draw at Hampden Park, which saw the visitors awarded a controversial late penalty kick, all but ended Craig Levein’s side’s hopes of qualifying for the 2012 European Championships, compounding a dismal campaign.

However, Scotland should perhaps banish such memories with willing abandon. The Czech Republic side Gordon Strachan’s men will face in Prague will be very different to the one that inflicted such pain on the Scots four and a half years ago. That might not necessarily be a good thing, though.

That Czech team found itself in something of a golden era - or rather, coming towards the end of a golden era. Players like Tomas Rosicky, Jiri Jarosik, Petr Cech and Milan Baros were all involved in the set-up five years ago, as Michal Bílek’s side qualified for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

Czech Republic didn’t just make the competition proper, they finished top of their group as well, only losing 1-0 to Portugal in a close-fought quarter-final clash. Having qualified for the 2008 European Championships and the 2006 World Cup before that, the Czechs were considered one of the continent’s most consistent international teams at this time.

Despite their record at major tournaments, Czech Republic were certainly beatable when they last visited Glasgow. Scotland had their chances to claim three points - and boost their qualification prospects. That opportunity passed them by, though.

So where are the Czech team that played that day, and what are they doing now? Roman Hubnik, who played at right back at Hampden Park, has since left Hertha Berlin and is now at Sigma Olomouc on loan from Viktoria Plzen. Jan Rajnoch, who also played in the same defence, is at Sigma Olomouc too.

Baros, a Galatasaray player five years ago, is now back in Czech Republic playing for Mlada Boleslav, with Jarosik since retiring from the sport. Of course, Rosicky still finds himself at Arsenal after all that time, while Jan Rezek - the villain of the piece following his dive to win a late penalty - has since retired from football.

Petr Cech missed out on his country’s last trip to the south side of Glasgow through injury. Jan Laštůvka was drafted in as a surprise replacement and now plays for Dnipro in Ukraine, where he has been since 2009.

Finishing top of their qualification group, Czech Republic are once again a force to be reckoned with. Their tally of 12 points from 10 fixtures was relatively low when compared with other group winners, but nonetheless, they finished ahead of Iceland, Turkey and Netherlands in Group A. Competition was stiff.

Former Viktoria Plzen coach Pavel Vrba has been a success since taking on the role in 2014, with his team only losing twice in qualification for this summer’s European Championships. He has changed the culture of the Czech national team, turning them into the antithesis of what they were last time they visited Scotland.

At that time Czech Republic were a stodgy, if well-organised side. However, they weren’t the most potent in the final third. Compare that to Vrba’s current team, who netted 19 times in 10 games, making them the highest scorers in their group. Scotland will face a very different side in Prague.

While Strachan will use both this fixture and the following home match against Denmark to experiment and blood fresh blood into the national team set-up, this double-header will provide the chance to put down a marker against opposition of similar ilk.

Heading into a new World Cup qualification cycle, making an impression is of significance to Strachan - as he insisted when asked whether his side’s performance over the two games was secondary given the number of first-time call-ups. “Every game - even friendlies - is now important,” he said upon the announcement of his squad.

It will therefore be interesting to observe how experimental Strachan will go with his team selections, both in Prague and against Denmark at Hampden. If indeed he is keen to make a mark in the new year then he might be wary of introducing too many new players into his team.

In that sense, these friendly matches are a conflict of result and the means by which it is achieved - which is more important? There is a certain symbolic significance to matches this early in a fresh qualification cycle, setting the tone for what will follow over the next two years or so. The result in Prague might be more important than is immediately obvious.