The 40-Year Old Record Andy Robertson Could Break This Summer
Scotland's Captain Could Take One Of Kenny Dalglish's Many Records In June
If Andy Robertson plays for Scotland against the Ivory Coast tomorrow at Everton’s £750m Hill Dickinson Stadium, he will go clear as the second most-capped player in the history of the men’s national team.
Robertson currently sits joint second, tied on 91 caps with Scotland’s oldest ever player at a World Cup - Jim Leighton. As an aside, I still like to think of myself as being somewhat ‘young’. I was ten years old at France ‘98, asking my dad “what’s on the Scotland goalies forehead?”, referring to Jim Leighton’s Vaseline smeared brow. However, I was made to feel old at my work this week, when browsing Nutmeg’s World Cup souvenir magazine. While reading through Daniel Gray’s brilliant depiction of a documentary from France ‘98, I remarked to colleagues that I can’t believe Jim Leighton wore the same under top to games for over 20 years! A much younger colleague replied, “who is Jim Leighton?.”
Naturally, to fully encapsulate Jim Leighton at a World Cup, I had to google ‘Jim Leighton vaseline eyes’, and the results made my younger colleague’s head explode, as he asked me “what’s that on his forehead?!”
Anyway, Robbo has just turned 32 and so probably still has a few more years left in a Scotland jersey. Although maybe not as many years as Leighton’s bogging under-jersey lasted. In the next year, Andy Robertson should become Scotland’s most capped male player ever, and is likely to be the first of a few players to break King Kenny Dalglish’s 102 cap record in the coming years. For example, John McGinn, who is six months younger than Robbo, is on 84 and should pass Kenny by Euro 2028.
If Robertson appears in every Scotland match this year, he will become Scotland’s most capped male player by the end of 2026 - even if we are eliminated in the World Cup group stages.
Including tomorrow’s match against Ivory Coast, there are at least 12 Scotland matches remaining this year; a further two pre-World Cup friendlies, at least 3 matches at the tournament, and then six fixtures in the Nations League in autumn.
Robertson’s record breaking appearance could come in the final UEFA Nations League match away to Switzerland in November. If we progress at the World Cup and play four or five matches, then he’d receive the honour in front of a sold-out Hampden park against either Slovenia or North Macedonia. Barring injury, McGinn will go 3rd in the list ahead of Leighton this year, too
THE RECORD AVAILABLE IN JUNE
As well as standing alone as the second most capped man in the national team’s history, Robertson could claim another record this summer
