SCOTLAND new boy James Forrest reckons the country are on the right road to qualifying for the next World Cup in Brazil – because the team now carries the stamp of Barclays Premier League pedigree.

The focus must switch to next year's World Cup qualifying campaign for the national team after the disappointment of crashing out of Euro 2012 in Alicante last night. Spain's classy 3-1 win meant Scotland were overtaken for a play-off place by the Czech Republic, who sealed second place in the group with a 4-1 victory in Lithuania.

That meant Scotland have failed in seven consecutive qualifying campaigns since appearing at the 1998 World Cup finals in France. And it will mean at least 16 years without being at a major tournament, between France 98 and the 2014 event in Brazil.

Those depressing statistics don't strike a chord with the upbeat message coming from manager Craig Levein and his players, though. They are already looking ahead to the start of the World Cup qualifiers next autumn.

Scotland are in what looks like a cut-throat group with Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Macedonia and Wales.

As a player beginning to nudge his way into manager Levein's team and considered a real prospect for the future, Celtic's 20-year-old Forrest came up against the best international team on the planet last night in Spain. He admitted he hoped his emergence for club and country would mean people stopped describing him as a young boy.

Forrest is the most recent of 16 players who have earned their first international caps since the Euro 2012 campaign began 13 months ago. The others were Jamie Mackie, Phil Bardsley, Barry Bannan, Danny Wilson, Cammy Bell, Craig Bryson, Steven Saunders, David Goodwillie, James McArthur, Robert Snodgrass, Mark Wilson, Chris Maguire, Craig Mackail-Smith, Russell Martin and Grant Hanley.

Only Bardsley, Bannan, Goodwillie, Mackail-Smith and Forrest were called upon against the Spaniards last night. Forrest's first two caps came in the friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and Denmark, and his outings against Liechtenstein and Spain over the past week doubled his tally to four.

He was a second-half substitute on Saturday and again last night, twice coming on to replace Bannan. Levein sees Forrest as an alternative to the little Aston Villa man on the right of midfield and has used him in four of the last six matches.

Forrest's aim is to consolidate for club and country, and become an established member of a Scotland squad he thinks will recover from last night's disappointment and make it to the 2014 finals.

"The focus has been on this tournament and we were unlucky not to get through," he said. "But it's the World Cup next and hopefully we can take the next step and make it to Brazil.

"Are we improving? Definitely. Look at the players we have from the English Premier League. There's no doubt we are improving. Maybe the home game against the Czech Republic was the difference, but we can't alter that now, it's finished. We just need to look forward."

From last night's team Alan Hutton, Gary Caldwell, Christophe Berra, Bardsley, Darren Fletcher, Bannan, Charlie Adam and James Morrison all play in England's top flight.

"We have guys in the team now who are really big players. You think of Darren Fletcher and Charlie Adam. They play for two of the biggest teams in England. On top of that, we have exciting young players coming through as well, the likes of Barry Bannan," said Forrest.

"As for me, hopefully I'm not getting classed as a young boy any more, but as someone who has some experience and who can really contribute. I feel more a part of it now than I did at the start."

Forrest will return to domestic action for Celtic at Kilmarnock in the SPL on Saturday, just four days after sharing a stage with Xavi, David Villa, David Silva and the other stars in the world champions' colours. He played the last 27 minutes of the game in the Jose Rico Perez Stadium.

"Spain are just on a different level altogether," he said. "When you play against them you see just how good they are. You watch them on the telly, but to play against them is frightening. We played well and we made some good chances ourselves, but when they go forward they're just unreal."