Andy Robertson says Scotland must build on their Euro 2020 experience and insists they ‘can’t wait another 23 years’ to qualify for a tournament again… as the defender urges his team to set their sights on 2022 World Cup
Andy Robertson says he wants the love affair between Scottish people and their national team to endure despite Steve Clarke’s men letting them down by falling short at Euro 2020.
The national team captain admitted after the 3-1 loss to Croatia than his side had been beaten by a superior team.
But he hopes the special bond between the squad and the nation forged by ending 23 years away from major finals is preserved despite the defeat.
Andy Robertson says he wants Scotland to build on their Euro 2020 experience after they were knocked out at the group stage
‘I’m so proud of all the players and I’m so proud to be captain of this country,’ said the Liverpool star.
‘It’s been an absolute honour. We’ve felt the love from the whole country and I really hope that continues.
‘I know we’ve disappointed them, I know we’ve fallen short but the love we’ve felt from the nation has been special and long may it continue.
‘It was obviously a massively disappointing result but I think Croatia showed why they got to a World Cup final (in 2018).
The Scotland captain says the players felt the love from the nation during the tournament
‘They’ve got quality players. Luka Modric just ran the game, kind of, and scored a wonderful goal and unfortunately that’s why we fell short.’
Robertson admits the tournament was a learning curve but he hopes the experience will help if the Scots reach the World Cup in Qatar and future tournaments.
‘We were one of the newbies,’ he said.
‘It’s been a long time coming and we will all gain experience from this.
‘We are a squad with a lot of potential and it’s important we build on this. It’s important that we don’t take this as the high point of this squad.
‘We need to focus on September and try to qualify for another tournament (the World Cup) because we can’t wait another 23 years.
‘We want to be a team that qualifies for many tournaments. We want it to become the norm that Scotland qualify.’
The left back wants it to become the norm that Scotland qualify for major tournaments