GLASGOW — Scotland captain Andy Robertson is poised to become only the second man to win 100 caps for Scotland in more than 150 years of international football, with the Tottenham Hotspur defender in line to reach the century against North Macedonia in Saturday's Nations League game. The 32-year-old sits on 99 caps and is closing in on Kenny Dalglish's all-time record of 102, a mark he could surpass in November should he feature in each of Scotland's remaining Nations League games this year.
"He always says 'you've got millions more games; Nations League, what's that? They didn't have that in my day!'" Robertson joked recently on the Stick to Football podcast about his friendship with Dalglish forged during his time with Liverpool. "I think he might bring up a ratio for years-to-games-played so he's still on top," he added. "It's obviously something that's been on my radar for a while now. When you get to 80-odd caps, you start to look up." Dalglish, who jointly holds the Scotland goals record on 30 with Denis Law, remains the only man to have pulled on the navy blue more times than Robertson.
Since Alex McLeish handed him the armband in 2018 after Scott Brown retired — when Robertson had just 22 caps at age 24 and had established himself as Liverpool's left-back ahead of the Champions League final — he has captained Scotland 29 times more than any other player. He is the only man to have led Scotland out at three major finals, including the World Cup this summer. Scotland and Napoli midfielder Scott McTominay said: "He's such a great captain and he's got that good balance between being one of the senior players and saying you need to wake up if you're not playing well. Then he's also got the personable side, organising things with the manager, helping young players and stuff. He's brilliant with that, brilliant." Robertson made 68 appearances for Steve Clarke, all as captain, during Clarke's seven-year stint that yielded three major tournaments. "He's been a fantastic captain for Scotland," Clarke said at the World Cup. "He's worked ever so hard for the country and he leads the group like the leader he is - and he's very, very important to me and the squad."
Robertson's 12-year international career began when Gordon Strachan plucked him from the under-21s for a debut as a 19-year-old in a win over Poland in March 2014 while he was a fresh-faced left-back with Dundee United. He has played under four different permanent Scotland bosses, plus one game under interim manager Malky Mackay in a friendly against the Netherlands at Pittodrie in 2017, and has now played twice for new boss Sebastien Pocognoli. McLeish called him the "outstanding candidate" and an "inspirational figure" when appointing him captain. He tops Scotland's assist charts since his debut in 2014 and, despite only four Scotland goals, delivered two decisive strikes — against Cyprus to start the Clarke era with a win in 2019 and a last-minute winner against Poland in 2024 that temporarily staved off Nations League relegation.
Consistency defines the numbers. Robertson has started 97 of his 99 caps, averaging 83 minutes per game, and has not missed a camp in three years. He has played nine times in major tournaments, with only one win among those nine — June's victory over Haiti in Boston at the World Cup. Of current players, John McGinn lurks only eight behind Robertson on the all-time list, so Scotland's men's centurion club could soon have three members. At 32 and still playing in the Premier League, there appears plenty more to come.