Four days after Liverpool’s Champions League defeat, Andy Robertson was back in action, this time for his country as Scotland met Ukraine in the World Cup play-off semi-final.
It’s been a rollercoaster few days for Robertson with the disappointment of Saturday evening then met with the incredibly uplifting scenes of the parade through the city the following day.
It was then up to Scotland for the left-back to join his side’s preparations for their shot at moving one step closer to the World Cup, against Ukraine on Wednesday night.
An emotionally charged fixture at Hampden Park saw Robertson lead his side from the start, playing the full 90 minutes in a heartbreaking 3-1 defeat.
The Scot started at left wing-back and certainly looked as though the season had caught up with him, that burst of energy readily seen at Liverpool not as forthcoming in what was his 56th game of the season.
Scotland were two goals down just minutes after the start of the second half, with Roman Yaremchuk’s header coming after Andriy Yarmolenko had opened the scoring with a perfect deft lob.
Callum McGregor offered Robertson and co. late hope with a shot through traffic crossing the goal line before a Ukraine clearance, handing Scotland 11 minutes to find an equaliser.
But it was Ukraine that would put the nail in the coffin through Artem Dovbyk, setting up a clash with Wales in Cardiff on Sunday – with the winner heading to Qatar later this year.
It makes for another heartbreak for Robertson, who told reporters post-match that Scotland “didn’t really show up.”
“It’s hugely disappointing as we’ve waited a long time for this game. Our performances beforehand were really good but to be honest we didn’t really show up,” Robertson told Sky Sports.
“That’s the World Cup gone for another four years… all we can say is sorry to the fans in here and back home.
“We had to try and stay in the game but we didn’t manage that… unfortunately, it’s passed us by now and, after a really positive campaign, we’ve let ourselves down tonight.”
With a World Cup play-off final no longer on the cards, Scotland have a further three fixtures on their schedule this month in the Nations League.
But Liverpool will hope Robertson is afforded the chance for some rest after playing 4,754 minutes in 2021/22 to date.
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