Andy Robertson earned praise in the press for his display in Scotland’s Euro 2020 opener. The Liverpool star couldn’t quite lead his country to a positive result, however.
Scotland are at Euro 2020 and Andy Robertson is captain. It’s their first international tournament in over 20 years, making this quite the moment for the Liverpool man.
But just getting to the tournament certainly won’t be enough to satisfy Robertson or the Scotland team. And with that in mind, their opener against the Czech Republic was a disappointment.
Steve Clarke’s side lost 2-0 despite creating better chances than their opponents. Robertson himself could have scored one, while there were a couple of decent second-half opportunities.
They just couldn’t find the back of the net, though. It makes their job a tough one to qualify and judging by this display, they’ll rely heavily on Robertson.
The full-back – playing wing-back here – was the team’s best player. You can see that purely from the ‘chances created’ column of the stats sheet.
Robertson made six for his teammates, twice as many as anyone else on the pitch. Three times as many as any other Scotland player.
That, understandably, earned Robertson plenty of praise in the press after the game.
Andy Robertson at Euro 2020
The Daily Record mention Robertson in the headline for their player ratings. They describe an ‘all-action display’, though only give him a 7 out of 10.
That was level with John McGinn as Scotland’s best player. We think that’s a little harsh on Robertson but hardly a negative description.
The Telegraph went further, labelling Robertson ‘the standout man’ in their ratings. Sky Sports then went even further as they said Robertson ‘was superb’ in the defeat.
They devoted a lot of space to Robertson’s performance in their review of the game. “Belief grew whenever the ball was in the vicinity of Robertson’s boot,” they wrote.
What RTK has to say
In a lot of ways, this game was a fine example of the struggles Robertson will face in this tournament. He’s not a goalscorer, he’s a creator, and that’s a tough job without top scorers in the side.
Providing for Mohamed Salah is entirely different to providing for London Dykes – not to say Robertson can’t do it. After all, he created six chances here.
But he’s going to have to put in some sensational displays to carry this team. Is he capable of that? We’re not quite sure. Not many full-backs can do that, given their limited impact on the game.
Though if any left-back on the planet can do it, it’s Robertson.