SportsView

·25 June 2026

Tottenham Hotspur defender Andy Robertson featured for Scotland as Brazil cruised to a 3-0 victory to finish top of Group C at the 2026 World Cup.

Spurs had acquired the Scotland captain at a bargain price, expecting his leadership and winning mentality to strengthen their squad.

However, Tottenham’s management would likely have been deeply disappointed with Robertson’s display as the Tartan Army suffered a heavy defeat against the South American giants.

The 32-year-old was beaten once on the dribble and contributed little going forward, failing to offer any meaningful attacking presence on the left flank.

Manager Steve Clarke decided to replace the Tottenham defender at half-time with Kieran Tierney, who immediately made a greater impact and injected more attacking drive into Scotland’s play.

In hindsight, Clarke will likely regret not starting Tierney, who provided the energy and creativity that Scotland had been missing in the first half.

“His half-time substitution was almost a blessing in disguise,” one outlet wrote while evaluating Robertson’s performance.

Scotland now face an anxious wait to learn whether they can progress as one of the best eight third-placed teams, a by-product of the new and hotly debated 48-team tournament format.

Robertson’s World Cup campaign has been far from ideal from Tottenham’s perspective. His performances against both Morocco and Brazil have been notably underwhelming.

Even at the time of his signing, doubts were raised about the wisdom of the move, despite his experience and decorated career.

His decline had already started becoming evident during his final seasons at Liverpool, and that downward trend appears to be continuing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs had been seeking a reliable option to compete with the injury-prone Destiny Udogie, but this was also the reason they brought in a versatile player like Djed Spence.

Although Spence is not naturally suited to the left side, he still appears to be a more effective option there than the current version of Robertson.

A more prudent decision might have been to entrust youngster Souza with the back-up role alongside Spence, allowing him to gain valuable first-team experience.

Instead, Souza will now likely be sent out on loan to find regular minutes, while Tottenham remain saddled with an ageing alternative whose best years seem firmly behind him.