Andrew Robertson ranks the opening game of Scotland’s World Cup campaign against Haiti as the biggest of his career.
After 12 days of preparation in Florida and North Carolina the curtain finally comes up in the Boston Stadium in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
And the captain has called on his teammates to make sure that, unlike back to back appearances at the Euros, they turn up for a major tournament and do themselves justice.
“We don’t want any regrets,” says Robertson. “When I look back at the last two Euros, you know potentially you look at certain games with regret. Switzerland in 2024 could have gone either way. When we drew England away, we just had to deal with that.
“But you look back at other games and ask if you could have maybe got over the line. Obviously the Hungary game is one that we all look back on and ask if we could have created more, been a bit more clinical.
"You never want to leave a tournament with regrets. That never changes. We’ve done really well in qualifying campaigns under this manager. But now we need to take it to the tournament itself.”
During a glittering nine year spell at Liverpool the captain played in three UEFA Champions League finals, a UEFA Super Cup, a FIFA Club World Cup and won two English Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two EFL Cups.
At the age of 32 he doubts that any fixture has felt as significant, as emotional, as what could easily become his one and only appearance on world football’s biggest stage.
The first Group C game kicks off at 9pm local time and 2am in Scotland and Robertson wants it to be a game worth keeping the kids up late for. Asked where Haiti ranks in his career the answer he says: "Right at the top. I've been very fortunate to play in big games, win trophies, play at the biggest club in the world.
"But for me, playing for your country is that step above. And to do it at a World Cup is just a dream come true for all of us.
"It's been something we've been working so hard towards as a country for the last 28 years to make it happen. And I'm just so proud and happy that this group of lads and this squad were the ones to be able to do it. “
An injury to Scott McKenna will rule the Dynamo Zagreb central defender out of the opening fixture. In more positive news talisman Scott McTominay trained after a stomach upset and now bears the weight of a nation’s expectations on his broad shoulders.
Steve Clarke parried a question comparing the Napoli midfielder’s importance to that of Gareth Bale in his Wales pomp, insisting that his squad has 26 superstars. Be that as it may, some superstars sprinkle a little more dust on those around them than others and McTominay’s impact on this team can hardly be overstated. While Clarke has yet to make up his mind over one or two positions, the former Manchester United man is locked in. Losing him would have been a grievous blow.
“I think Scott just wanted a bit of attention yesterday,” joked Robertson. “Thankfully he’s OK and he’s trained today.
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“Scotty’s unbelievable. When he came in for the first time, he was playing at centre-back which is daft to think about now. He’s gone to Italy and became the best player in the league.
“Credit has to go to him. When I talk about players’ mentality, Scott’s is right up there. He leaves no stone unturned. His quality has got better and he’s just grown into the position he’s in now.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him. He’s a fantastic player and a really good character in the changing room. He’s another leader who helps me massively. Hopefully he’s got a few other big moments to come in a Scotland shirt.”
Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the importance of Robertson himself. Loved and feted by Liverpool supporters prior to his move to Tottenham last week, praise for the skipper’s contribution in dark blue tends to be more grudging.
That was always the case for another great Liverpool player of the past as well and, by winning his 95th cap tonight, Robertson will edge one closer to the record 102 appearances made by Sir Kenny Dalglish.
“I got the captaincy when I was pretty young and I probably made mistakes. But at that point there was an issue with players not turning up on a regular basis.
“I made a promise to myself, whether I was injured or not, that I would always join up and hopefully people would join me. Thankfully I had good lads around me in terms of McGinn, McTominay, Christie, McLean, who all came with me and had the same attitude.
“All of a sudden, we had people desperate to come. They’re desperate to play for their country and be part of it.”
While the average American seems to take as much interest in the World Cup as they do in the centre of a doughnut, the influx of tartan tammies to downtown Boston is attracting plenty of curosity.
“When you land in Boston you can't you know you can't help but see so many fans around the place,” says Robertson. Now we’re locked in. Now we're ready for the game.
“All the preparation’s done, we’ll probably have a couple more team meetings, but all the training’s done and it’s up to us to now go and put the game plan and hopefully get the three points that we believe we can get.”
