Alex McLeish reflected on a "perfect" night at Hampden after Scotland earned a Euro 2020 play-off spot.

McLeish's side fought back to win 3-2 against Israel, a result that sees the Scots top their Nations League group and two games away from ending the long wait to reach a major tournament.

James Forrest was the hero on the night as the Celtic winger scored a hat-trick to turn the match around.

The national team boss had come under scrutiny after Scotland fell to defeat in Haifa earlier in the campaign.

McLeish praised his squad for fighting back to silence some of their critics.

"Feels perfect to me," he said of the performance.

"The goal was to win and we done that.

"We'll look at the video to improve at certain things but the guys played to a high level.

"We had a great team effort and James's goals... amazing.

"We felt he had the capabilities to go in and score, we encouraged him to do that more.

"He does it with his club, he's in phenonemanal form."

The Scots' hopes of topping the group looked all but over after losing in Israel.

But McLeish's men completed a recovery mission thanks to back-to-back wins, leaving the manager delighted.

He added: "I felt strong about the team going into this game.

"To keep the high intensity tonight was a task, with the same team going again.

"But I'm so proud of the guys, we answered a lot of questions.

"We showed Israel how we can really play.

"It's given us a massive feeling of self-satisfaction.

"We were written off and we've come through adversity."