Scots face a June fixture in Croatia in World Cup

However, national team manager Craig Levein declared himself content to concede to the dreaded close-season fixture in June if it meant being able to clinch the manager’s main wish – two homes fixtures to start and a Hampden date to conclude the campaign.

Scotland begin their latest attempt to qualify for a major finals with home games against Serbia and Macedonia next autumn, 8 and 11 September 2012, and host Croatia in the last game on Tuesday 15 October, 2013.

Hampden is also set to host its first-ever competitive international on a Friday night. Strathclyde Police have given the go-ahead for the visit of Wales on the evening of 22 March, 2013. Scotland will also play Belgium on a Friday in Glasgow.

Stewart Regan, the Scottish Football Association chief executive, described the negotiations as like “playing three dimensional chess”, while Levein admitted that yesterday’s meeting of all six countries had been “tense, fraught at times”.

However, the manager declared himself satisfied with the outcome. The agreement meant that the order of the fixtures was not be left to a computer’s random verdict.

“Ultimately we are very pleased with the outcome,” Levein said. “Obviously, playing Croatia in June was the one concession but, with an evening kick-off, I was prepared to make that sacrifice in order to protect our other wishes.”

The game in Croatia, at a venue yet to be announced, will provisionally kick-off at 9pm, local time, which is 8pm British summer time.