The Liverpool full-back watched on as his nation ended a long drought without playing at a major tournament
Scotland captain Andy Robertson revealed he was next in line for a penalty but was struggling with a hamstring complaint as his country edged past Serbia for a spot in Euro 2020 on Thursday.
Steve Clarke’s side had taken the lead in the 52nd minute through Ryan Christie but Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic equalised for Serbia in injury time.
The two sides could then not be split in extra-time as the qualifier was forced to a shootout with Scotland converting all five of their efforts before Aleksandar Mitrovic was denied by David Marshall.
Robertson was next in line to take a spot-kick had Mitrovic scored but concedes he was in no state to take one as he got to savour his nation booking their place in a major tournament for the first time in 23 years.
1998 – The Scotland men’s team have qualified for their first major international tournament since reaching the 1998 World Cup in France. Patience. #SERSCO
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 12, 2020
“I think I was next, but my hamstring had seized,” Robertson told Sky Sports post-match.
“When it goes to penalties you always back Marshy [David Marshall]. We’ve come so far as a squad and I’m proud of everyone. They’ve been through a lot – lot of criticism, a lot of negativity. Really hope everyone back home can see the positive side of this.
“In the 90 minutes. It’s come down to one of the best away performances I’ve been involved in. It shows you the strength we’ve got to come back from that, we stuck together throughout.
“I can’t wait for summer. It’s the most emotional I’ve been after the game.”
Scotland are now unbeaten in nine consecutive international matches – their longest such run since 1930.
An emotional Christie struggled to hold back tears in his post-match interview and was thankful to give Scotland something to cheer about after a difficult few months.
“It’s just an amazing night. It’s been a horrible year for everyone and we knew we could give something back to the country,” he said.
“It’s a monkey off the back and we can move on from here.”
Scotland have been drawn in Group D for Euro 2020 alongside Croatia, Czech Republic and England with their games to be played in Glasgow and London.
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