Captain Roberston
Andy Robertson is confident that two narrow defeats against stiff opposition in the shape of Japan and Ivory Coast can spur Scotland to the knockout round of the World Cup for the first ever time.
The Liverpool full back reflected on an international break that saw him move clear into second place on Scotland's list of most-capped players. Now on 92 caps, Robertson’s night at the home of his club’s rivals Everton was made extra special because his son Rocco was one of the mascots. Kenny Dalglish, the only player above Robertson with a record 102 caps, was also in attendance at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
A narrow 1-0 defeat spoiled the occasion slightly although Robertson contends the Scots, who lost 1-0 against Japan on Saturday, will benefit from the experiences in the long run. Steve Clarke also stressed this after two tough challenges ahead of games against Haiti, Morocco and Brazil in the United States this summer.
Scotland's Andrew Robertson reacts following the international friendly defeat by Ivory Coast at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool.placeholder image
Scotland's Andrew Robertson reacts following the international friendly defeat by Ivory Coast at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool. | PA
“At the full-time whistle on Tuesday, I heard a couple of boos and some people weren’t happy,” Robertson said. “But when we did our lap of honour, the reception we got was magnificent. It was Scotland fans happy with what they’d seen. They’re happy with their team because we’ve just qualified for a World Cup - the first time since 1998.
“The people in the stands were proud of the lads and the performance in the second half. Look, we’re annoyed at not winning. We want to win every game. But we also want to learn from friendly games. Under this manager, we’ve shown that when it comes to qualifiers we’ve stepped up. People can argue that in the Euros we couldn’t take the next step by getting out of the group. So that’s the next step for us, that’s what we want to do and work towards in the summer. Those two games will help us do that.”
Robertson also gave George Hirst a ringing endorsement as the striker seeks to force his way into Clarke’s World Cup plans. Although Scotland drew a blank in both games, the Ipswich Town striker caught the eye with a cameo against Japan. He was then picked to start against Ivory Coast and came closest to scoring.
“I thought George was excellent," said Robertson. “He was a guy wanting to show the manager what he’s got.
“He’s full of energy and he caused Ivory Coast problems. He’ll be frustrated he didn’t hit the target with a couple of things.
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“But he was a threat up top and we’re happy with big Hirsty. There were a lot of good performances on Tuesday night, despite the nine changes. Come the summer, everyone will be positive.
“We’ve shown in the past there are goals in this team,” he added. “Of course, it’s frustrating to lose two 1-0 games and we don’t score, especially after the excitement of November when we scored some ridiculous goals. We wanted to score more but we created chances and just couldn’t get it in the back of the net.
“Hopefully the lads were saving it for the summer and it will come. That’s the plan, hopefully when we get over there we can show that in front of goal.”