Tommy Conway almost had the fairy tale Scotland debut when he forced a fine save from Finnish goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo in the 92nd minute.
On as a late substitute during Scotland's 2-2 draw with Finland at Hampden, the 21-year-old Bristol City striker played with confidence.
Having only entered the national team fold this week after Liverpool's Ben Doak pulled out through injury, the young forward now has his sights set on Euro 2024.
"It's surreal and hasn't sunk in to be fair," said Conway of his debut. "My grandad will be looking down and will be proud. My family were here too and they loved it.
"I don't think there's anything better in football than making your family proud.
"To be on the international stage for your country is the pinnacle for me. To do that today with my debut, it's a really proud day all round."
Denied by goalkeeper Sinisalo in the game's dying moments, Conway admitted he thought he'd scored – but reckons his first goal for his country can now wait until Germany.
He added: "I did think it was in for a split second. Some of the boys were asking me how I didn't score, and I told them I'll be saving them for next week.
"I'll be ready whenever I'm called upon, and I'll be putting myself in the best place possible to get myself on the score sheet. To be going there is a big honour, and when I get the opportunity I'm going to grab it with both hands.
"The step up in quality is evident and you can tell they're playing at the highest level. And not only that, the team's character and togetherness is top, and that'll take us far into the tournament as well.
"[Scoring] is the dream – I've not stopped dreaming about that so let's hope it happens."
