Andy Robertson could have ducked out of this one.
Recovering from Covid would have given the Scotland captain the perfect excuse to be anywhere but Vienna for a match which, in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t matter too much.
Yes, the party line will be it gives Steve Clarke ’s men the chance to maintain momentum ahead of the - hopefully - two games that will decide whether Scotland goes to the World Cup.
But still, if Robertson were made of less stern stuff, he could have been sitting at home watching his mates take on Austria on Tuesday.
That though, just isn’t in the 28-year-old’s make-up. He might have already earned 55 caps but looming in the distance, 45 caps down the line is a milestone that, if achieved, would mark the Liverpool left-back down as a true Scotland great. If he isn’t already.
Robertson knows only Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish has passed that milestone for Scotland and it’s obvious he would love to share the accolade with the Liverpool icon, even if he insists getting there doesn’t weigh heavily on his mind.
He said: “I don’t look at it. I’m just happy I can show up at pretty much every camp. I’ve been lucky with injuries so far and hopefully that continues.
“Whenever I am available I show up and I want to get as many caps as I can.
“I want to play for Scotland and keep doing it on the pitch and if I do that then let’s see what number I get to.
“I was delighted to get to 50 and then my focus was 51. I want to keep going and always look to the next target and long may that continue.
“Of course you want to be one of the most capped but all the players have ambitions to do so.
“Craig Gordon is a lot closer than a lot of us but you just need to keep going, show up to every camp and keep getting picked by the manager and, if that happens, let’s see where we end up.”
Asked if he sees 100 caps as a possibility, Robertson added: “It’s possible for any of us. We have young players as well who have already got a good number of caps. I look at players in the past that probably had ambitions of getting to a hundred as well and it’s harder than it looks.
“That’s why we’ve only got one player over it. The amount of years Scottish football has been going and Kenny is the only one over a century. That shows you how difficult it is.
“Darren Fletcher had ambitions to get there and probably would have if he hadn’t had that serious illness.
“I want to get as many as I can. I want to stay fit, stay healthy and playing well for the team and if I do that let’s see what number I get to.”
Robertson wasn’t too healthy a couple of weeks ago when the virus finally hit him but there have been no lasting effects.
Robbo said: “I’m feeling a lot better now, thankfully. First couple of days I was in my bed and then I felt better and just had to give a negative test.
“That took a bit longer than expected but all good now. The family never got it, which was the main thing.
“It finally got me after two years or so. I was gutted to miss a game on Thursday but I’m happy to be here.
“I watched it (the Poland game). I was already in the team hotel.
“I was meeting up with the boys for Friday training, so I headed through and watched it in the hotel then integrated back into the squad with some light training.
"It was full-on from Saturday onwards. I want to play games. I enjoy playing football whether it’s for club or for country.
“I love captaining this team and playing for this team. When I got the positive test I thought it would be tight but that I could maybe make it for Thursday. But I was still positive too close to the game.
“Luckily I started producing negative tests, which meant I could meet up later in the week.’
While the Austria game is very much a friendly, Robertson knows the play-off against Ukraine will be the real deal, whenever it comes.
And if Scotland get past that one, they’ve the real Bale to face in the match that will decide whether Wales or us go to Qatar.
Robertson knows only too well the threat posed by Wales’ talisman.
He said: “He came off the bench in the 2018 Champions League final and scored two against us!
“To be honest playing Wales hasn’t even been discussed because we have an incredibly difficult game first to even get to that point.
“Ukraine are a good team and it’s going to be really tough. You can’t look too far ahead. Wales know their fate, we don’t.
“We don’t look at that game until the Ukraine game is played and hopefully we get a positive result and we can turn our focus to Wales.
“Luckily I play for a really good team that’s involved in these big competitions where you get to play against the best and Gareth Bale has certainly been up there for the last eight or nine years.
“He’s incredible for Wales. He showed that the other night. He’s a difficult player to play against but Wales have a lot of players who are difficult to play against.
“Bale is their talisman, their main man. He showed up on the big occasion yet again which he always seems to do.
“I’m sure whether it’s Ukraine or whether it’s us they play in the final, he will be right up for it because he always shows up for Wales and I’m sure he’ll continue to do so.”
