Andy Robertson has explained how Scotland are being fuelled by the chance to attain “legendary” status in their homeland by emerging from the group stage of Euro 2024. Scotland, who open the tournament against Germany on Friday evening, have never played in a knockout phase of a tournament. This miserable run dates back to the 1954 World Cup.
“We want to make history,” said Robertson. “We know what’s at stake. What’s the worst that can happen? We join the list of Scotland teams who haven’t got out of a group? We have so many incentives here, but becoming a legendary squad is the biggest. That’s what has to drive us forward.
“The thought of being the first Scotland team to make a knockout round is our driving force. If we manage that? You just never know.”
Switzerland and Hungary complete Group A. Common consensus is that Scotland are in a three-team race for qualification with that duo. “In the last Euros we played well in getting a draw at Wembley, but we let ourselves down a bit in the other two games,” Robertson said. “We know we could have done better. To qualify that last time was massive. To do it twice in a row is incredible. Now, we know we can make history.
“We’ve done the hard bit by qualifying. Now let’s see what else we can do. We’ll need to step things up from the warm-ups games, but when you look at results so will every other team in the tournament.
“Once we knew we were coming here our standards dropped a little; they shouldn’t, but they did. But now it’s time to get competitive again. It’s time to show what we can do.”
Robertson has fond memories of the Munich Football Arena. He was part of the Liverpool team who defeated Bayern Munich 3-1 there in March 2019. Less than three months later, Liverpool were lifting the trophy.
“Last time I came here was a massive win,” Robertson said. “A lot of people had written us off after we draw 0-0 at Anfield, but we went in front of all those Bayern supporters and beat them 3-1. It was incredible to be part of and it’s even more special that it took us on the journey to win the Champions League. It was such an important game.
“Jürgen Klopp texted me last week when I broke the record [for number of games captaining Scotland], which he didn’t need to do and which was good of him. He just said congratulations. I know he’ll be here and I know who he’ll be supporting. I hope he enjoys his night, but not too much.”
Steve Clarke echoed Robertson’s confidence when asked whether Scotland could pull off a shock against Germany. “Absolutely,” the manager said. “That’s why we’re here.
“We feel as though we can get a good result every time we step on to the pitch. Otherwise, what’s the point in going on there? We feel we’re ready and hopefully you’ll see that pan out. Everyone is fully fit, flying and desperate to be selected. They’re ready to go.”
Clarke appears to have relished a normal tournament buildup after the strange backdrop to the last Euros. “I think we should all be proud that we’re here,” be said. “It’s been a long time, since 1998, when we last travelled abroad for a major tournament. That’s why the nation is so excited.
“The last championships was obviously Covid-affected but I’m proud we’ve managed to achieve back-to-back qualifications for the European championships. Hopefully by the end of these championships we’re all proud that we’ve achieved a little bit more.”
