Youngsters Kieran Tierney and John McGinn made the walk out of the Hampden tunnel on Tuesday evening for their Scotland debuts and left a lasting impression on everyone watching.

Manager Gordon Strachan named the pair in his starting line-up for the 1-0 win over Denmark, bringing the tally of uncapped players, who were handed their chance over the double header, to six.

The two fixtures failed to generate much excitement outside of Scotland's diehard supporters, with many questioning what we would actually learn from these clashes.

Strachan, who has never been a fan of friendlies in the past, now believes he has a wider variety of options at his disposal after seeing his new boys tested against two teams in the world's top 40.

McGinn left the ground with the man of the match prize while at 18, Tierney became the youngest Scotland player to be capped in 54 years.

How they fit into the national team's long-term plans will become apparent ahead of summer tests against Italy and France.

Tierney's remarkable rise has been one of the tales of the season with the humble teenager taking all the adulation that has come his way without a hint of fuss.

"I was surprised [to start the game]," he said. "I'm so young but I'm very grateful for the chance he [Strachan] gave me.

"It's a great achievement, playing for your national team at any age is a great achievement but especially with me being so young."

An outstanding start to his Celtic career has seen the teenager dislodge Emilio Izaguirre as the Scottish champions' first-choice left back and a Young Player of the Year nomination seems inevitable.

Having bypassed various Scotland youth groups to go straight into Strachan's plans, Tierney showed his defensive ability as well as his attacking instincts on his international bow. His last-ditch tackle, just 14 minutes into the game, denied Denmark a clear goalscoring opportunity and also bailed out the experienced Grant Hanley.

Strachan's Tierney experiment would have lasted longer had Steven Fletcher not succumbed to illness with the national team boss calling on Charlie Mulgrew to match Denmark's level of physicality in the second period.

The emergence of the Celtic full-back adds to Scotland's considerable list of left back options, especially in comparison to the dearth of alternatives on the opposite side, with Andrew Robertson knowing he has real competition for his place.

With the likes of Graeme Shinnie and Lee Wallace waiting in the wings for a call-up, and Steven Whittaker and Charlie Mulgrew able to slot in as well, Tierney's progress at international level would ordinarily seem premature. However he looked at ease on the Hampden surface alongside his more experienced colleagues and earned his place high up the pecking order.

Like McGinn, gaining international experience in friendlies in the run up to the next qualifying campaign will help both establish themselves as mainstays.

The 21-year old was chosen ahead of Mulgrew and Liam Bridcutt to sit next to Scott Brown in defensive midfield and showed signs of the form he has displayed at Easter Road this season.

While international football often requires a more measured approach, McGinn's box-to-box style could prove to be the perfect foil for captain Scott Brown.

These two friendlies allowed Strachan to experiment with players but the summer double header will require a different approach. We now know the shape of the team works, and there are a strong pool of players who can fit into the 4-2-3-1 formation, but facing Italy and France will test other aspects of Scotland's game.

Coming up against better sides, who will dominate possession, will show how disciplined Scotland are without the ball, something that will be invaluable in the build-up to November's Auld Enemy clash with England.

McGinn still has to contend with Darren Fletcher, Barry Bannan and the currently injured James McArthur but with Kevin McDonald not featuring against Czech Republic, he has already worked his way up the ladder.

The former St Mirren man admitted those around him on the field had helped him adapt to his new surroundings.

"I'm playing with top players so that's easy," he said. "Playing alongside Scott was a massive help, he was talking for the whole game.

"Gordon [Greer] and Grant [Hanley] at the back were the same, they were a massive help to me and made the transition very easy.

"I loved every minute of it, even playing against the top players like Christian Eriksen, if you'd asked me at the start of the season if I was going to be doing that I would have laughed at you."

Both Tierney and McGinn have age on their side, and the confidence they will take from their successful debuts and respective domestic campaigns, could prove to be to Scotland's benefit in the long run.