FOXBOROUGH (United States) — Scotland captain Andy Robertson urged his team to build on their opening World Cup win against Haiti and get a result against Morocco on Friday which would help propel them into the knockout rounds of the tournament for the very first time.
“I don’t think any of the lads or the coaching staff and backroom staff have shied away from it,” Robertson told reporters at the Gillette Stadium on the eve of the game.
“We want to be the first team to be able to do that for our country. And it’s obviously a nice feeling to try and do that.
“We know how difficult it’s going to be. We’re now playing against one of the best teams in the world.
“But we also believe that if we perform to our maximum, then we can make it difficult for anyone,” Robertson added according to AFP.
“I think we’ve proven that over the years,” added the 32-year-old, who has just signed for Tottenham Hotspur after almost a decade at Liverpool.
Scotland kicked off their World Cup campaign in the United States with a 1-0 win over Haiti at the same venue near Boston last weekend.
That was their first World Cup game since 1998 and their first win at the tournament since 1990, as well as only their fifth ever at the finals.
With the eight best third-placed sides in the 12 groups at the expanded 48-team finals advancing to the next round, one point from their next two matches could well be enough to take Scotland through.
But they conclude Group C by playing two of the top six teams in the world rankings, with 2022 semifinalists Morocco being followed by a clash with record five-time winners Brazil in Miami.
The Morocco game brings back painful memories of Scotland’s last World Cup campaign in 1998 in France, when they played the North African nation in their final group game and were eliminated after a comprehensive 3-0 defeat.
“We’re under no illusion about the size of the task. Morocco are a really, really good side. They reached the last four of the last World Cup and I’ve got a feeling this Moroccan team is probably slightly better than that,” said Scotland coach Steve Clarke.
However, he believes his team may cope better as underdogs than they did against outsiders Haiti.
“Sometimes the Scottish psyche, the Scottish mentality is that we’re a little bit more comfortable when we’re the underdogs,” he said.
“We were the favourites against Haiti and we found the game a struggle, but we managed to win. This time we’re the underdogs and sometimes Scotland prefer it that way.”
Meanwhile, Robertson hailed the Scotland fans who have travelled to the United States in large numbers and have won over the people of Boston.
The Tartan Army have gone viral on social media, with their takeover of the city including a fan march to Fenway Park to for the baseball to watch the Boston Red Sox.
