I'll never forget the summer of 1998 and, in particular, June 10. The eyes of the world were on us.

Boozers up and down the country were rammed. Scotland were to play defending champions Brazil in the opening match of the World Cup. Happy days.

Now? Less so. Despite it being easier than ever to qualify for a major tournament, Scotland have been found wanting for more than 20 years.

Seven managers have come and gone since France '98. One of them is back.

If Scotland have serious aspirations of qualifying of next summer's European Championships ahead of Russia in Group I - assuming Belgium will canter it to top spot - one feels they'll need to take maximum points from their opening two games.

Thirteen months into the gig, Alex McLeish has delivered on his first task - a Nations League play-off spot. It may have been a bumpy ride, but he and Scotland got there.

So far, the Scots have lost six and won four games in McLeish's second stint, with five of those defeats coming in friendly internationals.

His next challenge is to take the positivity from the Nations League into a longer qualification campaign.

Kazakhstan and San Marino offer the chance to make a strong start and for McLeish to forge an identity from a squad which is much changed since the World Cup qualification campaign under Gordon Strachan.

As ever, the hand a manager has to play with is often dictated by circumstance rather than choice.

McLeish has been asked on numerous occasions how he fits two great left-backs in Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney - his two best players - into the same team. He has neither available, which is a massive double blow.

He's now got just five fit defenders, although midfielder Graeme Shinnie will slot in on the left side of defence. Add to that, no Ryan Fraser, no Ryan Christie, no Callum Paterson (who all started against Israel in November).

McLeish's preparations have been hampered big time. Oliver Burke is back in the mix and may well get the nod ahead of Oli McBurnie up top in Astana.

But from the group of forwards who boarded the flight, only James Forrest has scored at this level. The full squad has yielded just seven international goals.

While there may be multiple options to sharpen the attack, one key change at the back seems very predictable.

With Allan McGregor's untimely decision to retire from international football, Scott Bain is expected to start in the Astana Arena and make the number one position his own.

Since dislodging Craig Gordon as first choice at Celtic, the keeper has kept 11 clean sheets from his club's last 13 domestic games.

And while you wouldn't expect the best team in the country to ship goals, Bain has impressed after keeping the bench warm for the first six months of the season.

While the absence of Robertson and Tierney is set to be short term, there's a bigger challenge: building a reliable long-term centre-back pairing.

This has been an issue for a number of years and likely to be the first source of encouragement for any opposition, though the hosts won't be the biggest threat of the campaign.

The last time Kazakhstan won a Euro qualifier in their own backyard, STV news anchor John MacKay had a full of head of hair. That victory came against Azerbaijan almost eight years ago.

While the temperature outside the Astana Arena will be biting cold, a closed roof accompanied by hot air pumped into the stadium means there are no such problems inside.

The Kazakhs are ranked 77 places below Scotland and if that gap was to be narrowed in any way by full-time, there may be dissent from the travelling fans and certainly from some back home.

The appointment of Alex McLeish for a second spell as Scotland manager was met with a frosty reception by some - if not many - foot soldiers.

"He walked out on us."

"It's a backward move."

"It's an old pal's act."

McLeish knew there would be a backlash and responded by saying: "The cure for dissent is performing well and getting good results."

But a quick glance at Hampden attendances over the last three home games (Scotland have averaged just over 19,000) tells you supporter apathy remains.

After these back-to-back qualification games, Scotland host Cyprus. If the Scots get this campaign off to a sound start with two wins, supporters will be upbeat and surely we can anticipate a healthy crowd at Hampden in June.

But should McLeish's men drop points then it's hard to imagine the trains to Mound Florida being packed.

Over a decade ago, Big Eck was one victory away from taking Scotland to Euro 2008. This time, he has two bites of the cherry. With the Nations League play-offs parked for a year, all eyes will be on the conventional qualification route.

The rollercoaster of being a Scotland fan begins again.

Though temperatures in Astana are sub-zero, it's not quite a double header of ice and fire. But make no mistake, if there's a slip at the start of this journey, then the heat will be on before the campaign has found its feet.