Defender Andy Robertson knows the eyes of the nation will be on Scotland’s players as they look to keep alive their World Cup dream by winning in Slovenia tomorrow.
After their dramatic 1-0 victory against Slovakia at Hampden Park on Thursday, Gordon Strachan’s men must follow up with another victory in Ljubljana in order to guarantee finishing second in qualifying Group F.
The Scots must then hope they are among the eight best runners-up from the nine groups in order to secure a place in next month’s play-offs for a place in next summer’s finals in Russia.
Scotland left back Robertson knows his country’s hopes rest on tomorrow’s match but he is confident his side can handle the occasion.
The Liverpool player said: “It will be heart-in-mouth stuff but the whole nation will be behind us.
“The players and staff will now recover and get ready for going across there and it can end with us in the play-offs.
“We have done everything we can up to this point and now we are right in the mix.
“It is a kind of similar pressure to the Slovakia game. We knew Sunday wouldn’t matter unless we beat Slovakia. We always knew we needed six points and no one hid away from that fact.
“We are not at the start of the campaign where we might be able to drop points and it doesn’t really matter.
“It was two cup finals and we knew we needed to win them both. I am sure the Tartan Army will be over in great numbers and if we can perform like we have done in the last couple of games then it will hopefully get us through the group.”
Robertson appeared to be struggling with a wrist injury during the second half of Thursday’s match, but he has no concerns over his fitness.
He added: “I will be OK. I will put a wrist protector on or I will just strap it up but I should be all right for Sunday.
“I landed on my arm and then I couldn’t really feel anything, so I was worried a bone might be broken, but the doctor seems quite happy with things and he doesn’t think there is anything broken.
“My fingers are a wee bit fat and my wrist is a bit swollen but other than that I am OK. Hopefully, everything settles down.”
Fellow defender Kieran Tierney says patience will be key at the Stozice Stadium. The 20-year-old, who plays as a left back for Celtic but has filled in at right back for his country in recent games, said: “The job is nowhere near done yet. We still have a massive game to go through.
“We will prepare well for it, we will prepare and go into that game full of confidence.
“We need to be patient. We aren’t going to score every time we go up the park, so it’s important to keep the ball.
“We need to make Slovenia run and then break them down gradually.
“At this level, there are no easy games. Teams are well-organised with great players, so we need to be patient.”