Typically, the international break means long flights for the players called up to play for their countries, but with Scotland playing their World Cup warm-up against Côte d’Ivoire at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday night it meant Liverpool left back Andy Robertson didn’t have to travel far.
Their eventual 1-0 defeat—the second such result of the break following a 1-0 loss to Japan before the weekend—might not have been the ideal result, but for Robertson the game marked his 92nd senior
Scotland cap. It’s a figure that pushes him second all time past goalkeeper Jim Leighton, with only fellow Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish (102) ahead of him.
“To play for my country once was a dream come true, to become the second most capped was unthinkable,” Robertson said on social media following Tuesday night’s friendly match. “To take over a legend in Jim Leighton is a huge honour and one I don’t take for granted. See you all in the Summer!”
Scotland have a May 30th friendly against Curacao before the World Cup kicks off in June, with their first match in Group C against Haiti on the 13th of the month. Their other group stage opponents are Morocco and Brazil, and with eight of 12 third-place sides advancing at this expanded tournament there will be real hopes for them to make the knockout rounds.
With Robertson out of contract with Liverpool at the end of the season and head coach Arne Slot making it clear his opportunities will be limited behind last summer’s left back signing Milos Kerkez, expectation is the 32-year-old will have found himself a new club by the time the World Cup kicks off.
