Scotland No.2 Peter Grant claims the players must beat minnows San Marino after their humiliating 3-0 defeat in Kazakhstan.
Alex McLeish's side face the world's lowest-ranked team San Marino tomorrow and Grant has demanded the players show a reaction.
He said: "They have to make a statement. We have to put it right against San Marino, we have to win the game, and it has to be a much better performance."
San Marino go into the game on the back of a 5-0 defeat in Cyprus while Group I favourites Belgium started their campaign off with a 3-1 home win over Russia.
Grant added: "The players are obviously disappointed and as a staff we are gutted because it wasn't the performance we expected from this group of players."