Robertson leads Scotland into World Cup 2026 vowing to end 28-year knockout-stage drought

Andy Robertson has called on Scotland to finally reach the knockout stages of a major tournament at the 2026 World Cup, the country’s first appearance on the global stage since 1998, insisting the squad is in a different mindset to the one that suffered a 5-1 opening defeat to Germany at Euro 2024.

No player has captained Scotland more often or led them through more major tournaments than Robertson, but the 32-year-old is candid about what those campaigns produced. Scotland took one point from Euro 2020 and were routed in the opening game of Euro 2024. The common thread, in his view, was a failure to arrive fully prepared for the moment.

“The last Euros was quite unique,” Robertson said. “We were in the opener against the host nation which is never an easy task. When it came we maybe weren’t ready to go and strike. Now we’re locked in, we’re ready.”

Manager Steve Clarke, typically measured in his public statements, has allowed himself to articulate a clear ambition: win a game and advance beyond the group stage, something no Scotland side has ever managed at a World Cup or European Championship. An opening fixture against Haiti offers the kind of winnable match that the Germany draw two years ago emphatically did not.

“We want to do something special,” Clarke said. Robertson echoed the sentiment with a personal edge. “I don’t think we want any regrets. When I look back at the last two Euros you potentially look at certain games with regret. You never want to leave any match with regrets. That’s the aim.”

For Robertson, the tournament carries particular weight after nine years at Liverpool that brought Champions League glory — he described winning the 2019 final as among the best 24 hours of his life — yet left the World Cup as unfinished business well into his thirties.

“I’ve been very fortunate to play in big games, win trophies, play for the biggest club in the world, but for me playing for your country is that one step above,” he said. “To do it at a World Cup is a dream come true.”

Scotland secured their place in the tournament in dramatic fashion, with Scott McTominay’s overhead kick against Denmark and Kenny McLean’s half-volley from the halfway line in the play-offs producing moments that drew instant comparisons to Archie Gemmill’s celebrated strike against the Netherlands in 1978 — for decades the defining image of Scottish football at a World Cup. Whether the 2026 edition adds to that legacy, or merely repeats the pattern of early exits, will depend on whether Robertson’s conviction that this squad is genuinely ready translates into results.