Video: Celtic starlet Dembele makes impressive Scots debut
But, after coming on as a substitute in the 54th minute to an audible sense of excitement, there is little doubt there is something more than a little bit special about this kid.
Measuring just over half the size of some of the taller performers who were up to three years older, Dembele wasn’t at all fazed, showed no nerves as he demanded the ball as much as possible and made a few easy-on-the-eye runs.
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Hide AdLet’s not be silly, he didn’t come on and score a hat-trick, it was just the sheer ease with which he carried the ball forward and glided across the pitch, with a skilful shrug of the shoulder here and there and an electrifying burst of pace that hinted at the potential to come.
He is not just a work in progress, he is very much at the planning permission stage of being a footballer. But there is a vast amount of raw talent to work with. The hope for the majority of the crowd in Edinburgh is that he will choose to develop with Scotland.
His debut was part of a very Scottish performance... held to a draw just when it seemed victory was secured thanks to an excellent first-half display featuring two goals by impressive Motherwell striker Jamie Semple, including a superb effort with the outside of his left foot.
Of huge importance to the Scottish cause was Rangers’ Billy Gilmore, who drove the Scots forward, along with Harry Cochrane of Hearts.
But when Cochrane went off at the interval, the dynamic changed, Wales were very much in the ascendancy, and they were rewarded with goals by Isaak Davies and Keenan Patten.
Scotland manager Brian McLaughlin was pleased with the experience for his team though. He said: “It was excellent in terms of learning for these young boys. We had to make a few changes at half-time due to injuries and tired legs as it’s important we look after these boys.
“Wales changed their game and came into it very strongly and part of our learning is about having to deal with these situations. The positive thing is that we still have things to work on and we are still in with a chance of winning the cup.
“We are dealing with 15- and 14-year olds and we are asking them to play a certain way and it’s about being really brave. We started that way and gained a bit of success which was fine but they are 15 years old and as soon as someone scored against you at home then the pressure on them is enormous. They forgot what we were trying to do but they are learning and that’s all part of it. We couldn’t get into our flow and then we started to create some good patterns of play and scored two good goals and that’s another positive.”