Liverpool defender reckons friendly matches against Iceland and Liechtenstein come at an ideal time for the national team
Andy Robertson insists Scotland can use their UEFA Nations League disappointment in March to their advantage as they prepare to kick-start their latest World Cup qualifying campaign later this year.
Steve Clarke’s side are looking to get back to winning ways on home soil after crashing out of the top tier of the Nations League to Greece last time out. They have two friendlies against Iceland and minnows Liechtenstein to navigate over the coming days before turning their focus onto September and the start of another campaign.
Following a 1-0 victory over the Greeks in Pireaus, the Scots succumbed to relegation for League A after a woeful 3-0 defeat at Hampden in the play-off second leg. And while the nature of that performance and result still hurts, Liverpool defender Robertson believes the squad will be better for the experience moving forward.
“We learned a lot from the Greece games,” the national team skipper admitted. “In the first half of the first game we dominated and could have been two, maybe three up but didn’t take our chances. In the second half they were the better team for sure but we dug deep.
“In the second game it just looked as if we were a bit leggy watching it back. Maybe the two legs, doing the travelling, took it out of us a bit. The mentality, knowing what it takes in big games, that’s where we have to be better.
“We have to try and make sure we are as fresh as we can be going into the game and try to perform. If things aren’t going well on the pitch then it’s important we’re digging deep and trying to get in at half-time maybe just 1-0 down and still in the tie. Whereas we ended up going 2-0 down and we wanted to start the second half well.
“We end up giving the ball aways 15 seconds in and we’re 3-0 down. The tie is over at that point and that was frustrating because even at 2-0 down, we’re still in it and only needed one goal. I think we could’ve been better at being a bit more secure at the start of the second half and then try to build a bit of momentum going forward for the last 15-20 minutes.
“The third goal just completely killed the tie. So there was a lot to learn from it and we have to move on from it, but hopefully we can use that experience to our advantage.”
Scotland are in action against Iceland - who sit 30 places above Scotland (44th) in the FIFA World Rankings - at Hampden Park this evening before travelling to Vaduz to face Liechtenstein on Monday.
“They’re good games for us,” Robbo added. “The gaffer has made it quite clear this week that our record in friendlies hasn’t been very good so we obviously want to change that. There’s nothing that can replace competitive games, of course, but we try and get as much out of friendlies as possible.
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“We’ve got a big year coming up in terms of the World Cup qualifiers, so hopefully these next two games can stand us in good stead for the six qualifying games.
“In friendlies as well, we can give other boys minutes where they’ve maybe struggled for minutes in competitive games. We’ve got some younger players with us in the squad and time will tell if we see them on the pitch, but I’d be surprised if some of them didn’t. It’s about seeing players in different positions.
“We go into these two games looking to win, first and foremost. We need to try and get back to being consistent and winning games and we can start with these first two. It’s about building the strongest squad possible going into the World Cup qualifiers because I think we showed last time that we had a pretty perfect campaign and still missed out. We need to try and go one better this time.”
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