SCOTLAND CAPTAIN ANDY Robertson believes his side must improve in order to better compete with the world’s top international teams.
The left-back won the Champions League with Liverpool this season, but has not enjoyed anywhere near the same level of success with his national side of late.
Having suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Kazakhstan back in March and a 3-1 loss to Portugal last October, Steve Clarke’s men face a very difficult Euro 2020 qualifier versus Belgium on Tuesday evening.
Their best recent performance arguably came versus England back in 2017, a closely-fought encounter that ultimately ended in a draw when the Three Lions scored late on.
We have not had a big result probably since England and even then it was a disappointment because of the late goal,” Robertson admitted to reporters.
“But since then the big nations have turned us over, if we are being honest. We need to try and make ourselves hard to beat against the top nations again.
When I first came into the squad the top nations didn’t like playing against us. They might have got the results but they had to work for it and that’s what we need to get back to.”
Scotland last faced Belgium in a friendly at Hampden Park last year, a match in which the away side cleaned up with a 4-0 victory.
“If Belgium play to their best and take their chances most likely they will beat us, but we need to make us hard to beat,” said Robertson.
It is the games you want to play in when you get the honour of playing for your country. Of course I am a wee bit more used to playing against these players – a lot of them are in the Premier League.
“We have to be excited about coming to an old-fashioned stadium but a good one, playing against a fantastic team.”
Asked about that hefty loss to Tuesday’s opponents previously, Robertson concluded: “That’s what we need to cut out. We need to be a lot more streetwise and try to frustrate them and the longer it goes hopefully that happens and we grow in confidence.”
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