Andrew Robertson conceded Scotland "didn't really show up" after their 3-1 defeat to Ukraine in Wednesday's World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final.
The tie at Hampden Park was delayed from March due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and it was an emotional evening for all concerned in Glasgow.
Yet Steve Clarke's team ultimately failed to match not only the visitors' intensity, but also their quality, with only some poor goalkeeping from Georgi Bushchan allowing Scotland a way back into the game.
Indeed, Scotland were fortunate not to have conceded more, with Craig Gordon pulling off fine stops early on and making five saves in total, while Artem Dovbyk spurned two golden chances to put the result beyond doubt before finally doing so in stoppage time.
While Ukraine will now switch focus to playing Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, with a place in Qatar the prize on offer, Scotland must lick their wounds before taking on Armenia in their opening Nations League game on June 8.
"Hugely disappointing. We've waited a long time for this game," Liverpool full-back Robertson told Sky Sports after another big game failed to go his way after the Reds' Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid last week.
"Our performances beforehand had been really good and to be honest we didn't really show up.
"Ukraine settled into the game a lot quicker than us and then it kind of continued really. We knew they were probably going to get tired and that was the case but we gave ourselves too much of an uphill battle.
"We didn't play the way we wanted to play, that's the most disappointing thing. It's passed us by now. After a positive campaign, we've let ourselves down.
"We have to hurt, have to reflect, tomorrow's a new day. We've got the Nations League, we have to try and push.
"That's the World Cup gone for us for another four years, that's really hard for us because we all have dreams of trying to play in that big tournament and we didn't put in a performance that justified that."
Scotland were unbeaten in 12 home games at Hampden Park coming into this match (W8 D4), meaning Ukraine have ended their longest unbeaten run on home soil since the 1970s, when they went 16 such matches without defeat.
"We have to stick together, we know there'll be scrutiny coming our way and we know we'll be under fire, but inside we have to stick together," Robertson added.
"As a group we've made massive strides in a couple of years, there'll be a time to take perspective of that, but tonight's not that night. We have to dust ourselves down, go again."
Scotland have failed to qualify for any of the last six World Cup tournaments since appearing at the 1998 edition. Between 1974 and 1998 they missed only one of seven tournaments.
Ruud edges into French Open third round after rollercoaster match
Casper Ruud survived a scare after being pushed all the way by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the French Open second round on Thursday.
The Norwegian prevailed 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in an instant classic that lasted just over four hours on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Ruud knew he was in for a tough match after winning the tiebreak in the first set, and Davidovich Fokina fought back in brilliant fashion to take the second.
The momentum swung back in Ruud’s favour in the third as he regained the lead in the match, but the Spaniard ensured they could not be separated as he forced a decider after another tight contest.
Despite putting up a good fight, Davidovich Fokina failed to see out what would have been a stunning win, as Ruud edged one step closer to a potential first Roland Garros title.
Next up for Ruud is Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round.
Data Debrief: Ruud holds his nerve
Ruud lost his first-ever Roland Garros second-round match (v Albert Ramos in 2018) but is unbeaten in his six matches at that stage of the French Open since.
The Norwegian has now reached the third round at Roland Garros six times in his career, which is more than he has in all other three Grand Slams combined (two at the Australian Open, two at the US Open, 0 at Wimbledon).
Djokovic marches into French Open third round after dominant straight-sets win
Novak Djokovic eased through to the French Open third round following another straight-sets victory over Roberto Carballes Baena at Roland-Garros.
The reigning champion, who is seeking a record-breaking 25th grand slam singles title, took just over two hours to wrap up a 6-4 6-1 6-2 win and set up a showdown with either Gael Monfils or Lorenzo Musetti in round three.
Not since the 2017 Australian Open has Djokovic failed to progress beyond the second round at a major.
It looked like the Serb would be in for a tough battle as Carballes Baena broke in the opening game, though he did respond immediately before the first set appeared finely poised at 4-4 and deuce.
Djokovic subsequently drew first blood, and it was very much one-way traffic thereon.
Indeed, from 4-4 in that first set, the world number one won 14 of the next 17 games to sail into the last 32.
Data Debrief: Djokovic surpasses Nadal at Roland-Garros
The undisputed 'King of Clay', Nadal's record of 14 French Open titles looks highly unlikely to be under any severe threat in the near future.
However, Djokovic has surpassed the Spaniard by reaching round three at Roland-Garros for a 19th time in his 20 appearances - the most appearances by any player during the Open Era.
The Serb also notched up his 94th match win at the French Open. That is his joint-most at a single ATP event in his career, matching is tally at the Australian Open, where he is a 10-time champion.
Svitolina and Rybakina remain on collision course for French Open fourth round
Elina Svitolina and Elena Rybakina remain on course for a French Open fourth-round showdown, after the pair enjoyed straight-sets victories in round two.
Rybakina was a 6-3 6-4 winner over Arantxa Rus in 67 minutes, while Svitolina battled past local favourite Diane Parry 6-4 7-6 (7-3) in just under two hours at Roland-Garros.
Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina is still yet to drop a set at this season's clay-court major.
Her opponent was seeking another scalp at the French Open, having stunned second seed Kim Clijsters at this stage back in 2011.
However, despite a spirited display, there was to be no such fairytale for the 33-year-old Dutchwoman 13 years on, with Rybakina hitting 28 winners to 20 unforced errors on the way to victory.
The Kazakhstani is back in round three for a third straight year, though she was forced to withdraw injured before her last-32 clash with Sara Sorribes Tormo 12 months ago.
Meanwhile, Svitolina faced another tough battle, having been forced to come from behind to beat former world number one Karolina Pliskova in the opening round.
Runner-up to Coco Gauff in Auckland at the start of the year, the Ukrainian has not progressed beyond the last 16 of any event since, but just had too much for Parry on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Data Debrief: Svitolina matches Sharapova and Stosur
A four-time quarter-finalist at Roland-Garros, Svitolina is through to round three for a ninth successive appearance.
The 15th seed is the first player to do that since Maria Sharapova (13 from 2004) and Sam Stosur (10 from 2009) in 2018.
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