ANDY Robertson used to sweat over his starting role with Scotland. Now the 25-year-old ponders whether he is worthy of a first team spot in the World XI.

A year almost to the day since he was named international captain for the first time, Robertson yesterday became the first Scot to make the 55-man long list for the FIFPro team in the year, an award handed out annually by the global players’ union for the last 15 years.

With only Marcelo of Real Madrid, Juventus’ Alex Sandro and Barcelona’s Jordi Alba for company in the running to be the best left back in the world from the 23,000 senior players who were considered, and six of his Champions League winning-Liverpool team-mates also making the cut, he is entitled to feel pretty good about his chances of making the final eleven.

The Herald:

READ MORE: Liverpool defender Andy Robertson included on FIFA shortlist

“I’m one of 55 – probably the biggest squad I have ever been involved in!” said Robertson. “Look, it’s obviously a massive thing for me but let’s see if I get in the XI or not. Even to be nominated alongside the players there is a special feeling. To have six of your team-mates in there is really good too.”

Robertson is already among the world’s elite footballers alright. Now he wants his Scotland team-mates to join him on the global stage. As Virgil van Dijk said after pipping Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to the Uefa player of the year award recently, you are only ever as good as your team-mates. “Everyone in the squad wants Scotland to be successful,” said Robertson. “We are all pushing in the right direction. I am the captain and a leader and if people look to me then I will try and push that.”

More and more Scottish players ARE joining Robertson in the Premier League, the full back giving Norwich duo Kenny McLean and Grant Hanley a hiding on the opening day, as the likes of John McGinn and Oli McBurnie join Ryan Fraser and Scott McTominay in the list of players turning heads in the top league in England.

And Scotland of course, already have a Uefa 2020 play-off in their back pockets, due to this group of players and the endeavours of former boss Alex McLeish. With one-off semi-finals and finals against the likes of Bulgaria or Finland then Serbia or Norway lying in wait in March next year, it would be easy to fall back upon that backdoor route to our first finals in 22 years.

It says it all about Robertson’s ambitions to qualify via the group stages that he hasn’t even bothered looking into the permutations.

“It’s not even come into my mind,” said Robertson. “In fact, I still don’t really know how the Nations League works. I know we won the group and we’ve got a play-off but I don’t know who that will be against or whatever. For me, these games are in front of us. We are in a qualifying campaign and I would much rather qualify this way.”

The Herald:

READ MORE: Robert Snodgrass is a big character who has returned to the Scotland fold under Steve Clarke

Having said that, the notion of getting March off, just when Liverpool will hope to be gearing up to retain their Champions League crown and the run-in is getting under way in pursuit of their first Premier League title since 1990, isn’t to be sneezed at.

“True, but I don’t think that will happen,” says Robertson with a smile. “Hopefully that’s a dilemma we have. But I’m not sure the gaffer would give us March off. But I would much rather be playing two friendlies and getting ready for a campaign than actually relying on those games. It will be nice to fall back on if we need it, hopefully we don’t. We have six games now to try and make that happen.”

With the superstars of Belgium coming calling again on Monday – Robertson missed Brussels after succumbing to an 11th hour injury – the match against the Russians is the really pivotal one, the hosts having gone all the way to a quarter final defeat on penalties against eventual winners Croatia. While we are sneakily unbeaten at this venue in competitive matches for almost four years, it is some time for the last time we defeated one of a group’s two seeds in a big match on home soil with something resting on the outcome.

“It is pivotal because it’s the next game but also we know that if we have aspirations of finishing second and qualifying - which we do - realistically it’s probably going to be between ourselves and Russia,” said Robertson. “They are our rivals. It’s the first time we have come across them and it’s at home. We need to start producing big results again.

“We’ve not done it for too long,” he added. “Why not start tomorrow night? That’s got to be our aim. If we can do it, the group will look a lot better. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe that we could achieve things.”