Scotland host Moldova before making the trip to Austria
Captain Andy Robertson insists Scotland will be setting themselves up for a fall if they allow their focus to drift beyond this Saturday’s World Cup qualifier at home to Moldova.
The Scots’ hopes of winning Group F were dealt a setback when they lost 2-0 to top seeds Denmark on Wednesday and they now appear to be in a three-way battle for second place with Israel and Austria, their opponents next Tuesday.
While the showdown in Vienna is likely to have a big bearing on Scotland’s prospects, Robertson is adamant that all the team’s attention must be on ensuring they take full points from their Hampden clash with minnows Moldova.
The skipper is hoping a large home support turns out on Saturday to help create an upbeat atmosphere similar to the one encountered in Copenhagen on Wednesday.
He said: “The next one is always the most important. I have been involved in squads that have not picked up points when we maybe should.
“We will have our crowd back at Hampden, and I hope we have a really good turnout because the Danish were fantastic on Wednesday. The fans got right behind their team and the players reacted.
“Hopefully we can replicate that on Saturday, hopefully have a good crowd. For me the next game is always the most important, you can only look at what’s in front of you and that’s Moldova.
“We have to recover quickly, try to put in a good performance and try to get the three points and then we will turn to Austria.”
The defeat in Copenhagen left Scotland seven points behind Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark after just four games.
After a poor first half on Wednesday, Robertson believes his side need to get closer to the way they played in the second half if they are get their qualification bid back on track.
He said: “Denmark are number one seeds, they have beat everyone they have played so far.
“We wanted to be the team that managed to take points off them but look we have a massive two games coming up.
“We know what we need to do, we are still right in it in my opinion but we need to pick up points, that’s the only way you get back in the group.
“If Denmark continue to beat everyone then number one will be them and it is a fight for second place. With the other teams it is still pretty close but we have still to play them and we need to try to take points.
“We believe we can take positives from the second half but we need to put in 90 minutes like that if we want to get anything out the next two games and going forward.
“At this level you have to put in a full 90 minutes, not 45. We didn’t do that and we got punished for it.”
Scotland vs Moldova - Match Preview
Captain Andy Robertson insists Scotland will be setting themselves up for a fall if they allow their focus to drift beyond this Saturday’s World Cup qualifier at home to Moldova.
The Scots’ hopes of winning Group F were dealt a setback when they lost 2-0 to top seeds Denmark on Wednesday and they now appear to be in a three-way battle for second place with Israel and Austria, their opponents next Tuesday.
While the showdown in Vienna is likely to have a big bearing on Scotland’s prospects, Robertson is adamant that all the team’s attention must be on ensuring they take full points from their Hampden clash with minnows Moldova.
The skipper is hoping a large home support turns out on Saturday to help create an upbeat atmosphere similar to the one encountered in Copenhagen on Wednesday.
He said: “The next one is always the most important. I have been involved in squads that have not picked up points when we maybe should.
“We will have our crowd back at Hampden, and I hope we have a really good turnout because the Danish were fantastic on Wednesday. The fans got right behind their team and the players reacted.
“Hopefully we can replicate that on Saturday, hopefully have a good crowd. For me the next game is always the most important, you can only look at what’s in front of you and that’s Moldova.
“We have to recover quickly, try to put in a good performance and try to get the three points and then we will turn to Austria.”
The defeat in Copenhagen left Scotland seven points behind Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark after just four games.
After a poor first half on Wednesday, Robertson believes his side need to get closer to the way they played in the second half if they are get their qualification bid back on track.
He said: “Denmark are number one seeds, they have beat everyone they have played so far.
“We wanted to be the team that managed to take points off them but look we have a massive two games coming up.
“We know what we need to do, we are still right in it in my opinion but we need to pick up points, that’s the only way you get back in the group.
“If Denmark continue to beat everyone then number one will be them and it is a fight for second place. With the other teams it is still pretty close but we have still to play them and we need to try to take points.
“We believe we can take positives from the second half but we need to put in 90 minutes like that if we want to get anything out the next two games and going forward.
“At this level you have to put in a full 90 minutes, not 45. We didn’t do that and we got punished for it.”
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