Warsaw March 5, 2014. A 19-year-old Andy Robertson is taking his first steps as a full Scotland international in a friendly arranged ahead of the World Cup.
A World Cup that, once again, proceeded to take place without any Scottish involvement. Eight-and-a-half years on from that 1-0 victory over Poland and it is the captain’s Liverpool team-mate Calvin Ramsay walking in those rookie shoes at 19, hoping for minutes in Turkey while the world’s best prepare for the greatest show on Earth 1400 miles down the road in Doha.
The circumstances, then, are similar. And Robertson, who is set to win his 60th cap tonight, won’t ever forget his own first taste of national service, a springboard to far greater occasions. A move from Dundee United to Hull followed that summer before, three years later, it was off to Liverpool where Premier League and Champions League honours lay in wait.
