2026-05-09 09:32:41

Andy Robertson has achieved a dream by leading Scotland to a World Cup.

The defender will captain Scotland as they make their first appearance at the finals for 28 years in North America this summer and admits that the prospect of playing on the biggest stage was “the biggest driving factor” of his international career.

Robertson – whose glittering spell at Liverpool will come to a close at the end of the season – told FourFourTwo magazine: “That was always the aim. Qualifying for tournaments was one thing, but to help take your country to a World Cup was always the biggest driving factor.

“It’s the biggest stage – it’s the pinnacle – and the tournament that everyone in the world wants to be involved in. I’m not as young as I once was, time was probably a little bit against me in terms of it coming round every four years. So I knew this could potentially be my last chance and I didn’t want to give that up – I wanted to give absolutely everything to make that happen.

“We made sure everything off the pitch was spot on, then it was up to us to deliver in the pitch. Credit to the lads, we all did that. It’s a relief of course, but something I’m very proud of. We all are.”

Robertson, 32, has made 92 appearances for Scotland and confessed that he finds it “surreal” to be closing in on Liverpool icon Sir Kenny Dalglish’s national record of 102 caps.

The defender said: “It’s something we have a laugh and a joke about every time I see him. For me, to get one cap for my country was the dream, I just wanted to represent my country and achieve that goal. I managed to do that at a pretty early age, which was amazing.

“To have now overtaken Jim Leighton, who was such an amazing goalkeeper for our country, and to even be in the conversation of trying to catch Kenny Dalglish’s record – our greatest player of all time – is a bit surreal.

“It gives me motivation to keep pushing. I’ve never been in football for individual awards or recognition, but just to be on the list with those kinds of players is amazing.”

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