By Harry Corish
Wales’ potential World Cup play-off opponents, Scotland, are praying captain Andy Robertson comes through the Champions League final unscathed on Saturday.
Robertson is expected to start for Liverpool against Real Madrid in Paris for what could be the Reds’ seventh Champions League win or Madrid’s 14th.
The left-back will line up for the Reds in Europe’s showpiece match on Saturday, meaning he will not join up with the national squad until Sunday or Monday.
If the Scotland captain makes it through the final uninjured, he will lead his country against Ukraine on Wednesday, June 1 at Hampden.
If Scotland are victorious, Robertson and his men will then face a huge clash against Wales in Cardiff on Sunday week for World Cup qualification.
But manager Steve Clarke is not concerned about the Champions League final having any adverse impact on Robertson’s ability to lead Scotland into their World Cup play-off campaign.
Clarke is unfazed by the prospect of Robertson playing such a big match for his club so close to another massive game for his country.
Steve Clarke has named his Scotland squad to face Poland and Austria or Wales in our two international friendlies later this month. pic.twitter.com/yWfIqvx3Tg
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) March 15, 2022
“When you play the amount of games that Liverpool have, when you go to the final stages of all the competitions, the players are fit and they understand what’s needed physically and mentally to prepare for the games so I’ve no doubts about Andy,” said Clarke.
Clarke named a 28-man squad on Monday for the June schedule, which begins with the World Cup play-offs before three Nations League games.
“The squad’s a bit larger than normal to cover one or two eventualities but there are more than enough good players in that squad to get us through the summer games,” said the manager.
Scott McKenna is another player who will be late meeting up with the Scotland squad as he will be playing for Nottingham Forest against Huddersfield in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on Sunday evening.
“In the same way we manage the rest of them, we’ll just fit them (Robertson and McKenna) in as and when they’re available,” said Clarke.
“Hopefully both of them have good weekends and come in with a smile on their face next Monday and then we prepare for the game.
🏆🏴 | Congratulations to Cymru youngster Brennan Johnson on winning the EFL Championship Young Player of the Season award 🤩 pic.twitter.com/NL7x9YEuLd
— welshfootie (@welshfootie) April 24, 2022
“I only have the squad together for three days before the game. Andy and Scott will join us on Sunday or Monday so we’ll only have a couple of days with the full squad together before the game, but we’ll be ready.”
Wales manager Robert Page will have a similar worry, with Sorba Thomas and Brennan Johnson lining up against each other in the Championship play-off final on Sunday.
But Page is not worried about whether the players experience ecstasy or heartbreak with their club sides. He insists it will not get in the way of Wales’ focus, as he believes the closeness of the group will help to make sure the players are ready when needed.
Page said: “The senior players look forward to coming on camp. I know for a fact they message each other beforehand and that speaks volumes about the environment. They can’t wait to be here.
“It’s like a group of mates getting together for a kickabout.
“If you were a domestic manager then you wouldn’t want these games because you would want to look after the welfare of your players.
“I sympathise with domestic managers. The players have had a long season and those managers want them to rest up.
WEMBLEY BOUND📍 pic.twitter.com/RUInO3B6RM
— Sorba Thomas (@SorbaThomas) May 17, 2022
“But they’ve got to release them for international football. It’s crazy, but some of them are going to go a full calendar year without any rest.
“That will have to be factored into our training. For me. I am going to use the Nations League games as a tool to expose the Brennan Johnson of this world.
“Don’t get me wrong, we want to win every game we go into. But for us, the National league is not the be-all and end-all.
“It’s about exposing younger players to top opposition so that we can benefit further down the road.”
