THREE minutes. It could be the answer to any number of questions, including one my wife could probably answer for you. But the three minutes I am referring to is the length of time that Motherwell youngster Chris Cadden’s full international debut lasted.

The 21-year-old was given his Scotland bow by manager Alex McLeish towards the end of the 2-0 defeat to Peru in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and I am willing to wager he will treasure those three minutes for the rest of his life. When people say international football doesn’t matter as much these days, just ask Cadden what those precious minutes meant to him and his family. Brilliant.

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Cadden, a late call-up to the squad, would not have been on the trip had others not pulled out. Some of the players must have sought advice on what lay ahead of them from the Peru Two given the rate they seemed to pick up injuries, but their loss could very much be to the gain of the likes of Cadden, and maybe Scotland too.

The challenge for him now, as with all of the players who have been given the chance to impress McLeish on the tour to South America, is to ensure that they are not only remembered as place-fillers for the big guns, but as genuine options when the real stuff gets underway in September.

I am writing this before we take on Mexico in the sweltering heat of Mexico City in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. Judging by the ‘taps aff’ mayhem and the egregiously white bodies I witnessed melting in the 20-degree heatwave in the Kelvingrove Park on Sunday there, us Scots don’t always cope so well when the mercury rises, so it could be a difficult night.

But, presuming we don’t take a real tanking, then there can still be real positives to be gained from the trip. Chief amongst those will be the experience it has given to young players, playing against quality opposition in packed-out stadiums. The hope has to be that it aids their development, and hopefully one or two can push through into the senior set-up with greater regularity.

The most impressive cameo, and perhaps the most impressive performance overall from a Scotland player against Peru, came from Lewis Morgan (I would have mentioned him first, but the 18 minutes he got - as Mrs McGarry would testify - was far too long for the joke at the top to work).

The young winger is taking the leap from St Mirren to Celtic of course this summer, but he showed that he isn’t fazed in the slightest by the big stage with his direct, skillful dribbling and in his willingness to demand the ball from his teammates. He created the only real chance of any note for the Scots on the night, and I hope he will get a run-out from the start against the Mexicans to show us what he can do.

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Elsewhere, Scott McTominay looked unflappable in midfield, as well he might given he is so used to playing on such a stage at club level. One has to hope that he doesn’t suffer from the same burden of expectation that followed Darren Fletcher throughout his Scotland career, with supporters demanding one of the best defensive midfielders in the game at the time to suddenly turn into a playmaker when he pulled on the dark blue. Let the kid get on with what he is good at; using his physical attributes, winning the ball and retaining possession.

Further down the ladder, the under-21s provided a real fillip to the nation with their now annual shock result at the Toulon Tournament, beating hosts France by an Oliver Burke goal to nil. He is another who will surely be knocking on the door of the full squad again, and you wouldn’t put it past the likes of Allan Campbell to soon follow suit.

And while the Euro 2020 qualifiers may come too soon for Chelsea and former Rangers kid Billy Gilmour, his outstanding performance on his under-21 debut at the age of just 16 showed that he is an enormous prospect for the future.

So, while it runs against the grain of the stereotypically dour and negative image that we as a nation of football fans like to project, I for one can see real green shoots of hope coming through for the future. Euro 2020, and, erm, Hampden, here we come.