Carl Robinson, left, enters his third season with Toronto FC. (David Zalubowski/Associated Press)

Carl Robinson is a proud and dedicated Welshman.

Whenever the manager of Wales' national team called him up for international duty — whether it be a World Cup qualifying game or a friendly — Robinson always made it a point to be there.

So you can imagine how hard it was for the Toronto FC midfielder to announce his international retirement last week following Wales' 2-0 loss to Germany in Cardiff, a result that all but officially ended the country's hopes of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

An unused substitute against the Germans, Robinson told Welsh manager John Toshack of his decision to retire after the game, bringing to an end an international career that spanned 10 years and saw the veteran midfielder score one goal in 52 appearances for his country.

Age played a big role in decision

Robinson said his age was the main factor in his decision to walk away from the Welsh national team.

"I'm not getting any younger, I'm 32," Robinson told CBCSports.ca.

"We're not going to qualify for [the 2010 World Cup] which is disappointing. It's another two years before the next World Cup qualifying campaign starts, so it would take at least another four years before we can qualify and by that time I'll be 36, which is too old."

Robinson, who joined Toronto FC in 2007 after splitting his time between several English clubs the previous decade, said he also wants to focus on his club career.

Since coming to Major League Soccer, he has missed a handful of games for Toronto — including the second game of the current season, a 1-1 draw against the Columbus Crew — due to international commitments.

But after signing a contract extension with Toronto in the off-season, and in light of Wales' failed World Cup qualifying campaign, he believes he owes the MLS club more of his undivided attention.

"My future is here with Toronto FC," Robinson said. "My life is here, my family is here and that's what I'm going to concentrate on."

The timing was right to bow out

Helping Wales qualify for Euro 2012 was something that crossed his mind, but in the end, he simply had enough and felt that the time was right to announce his international retirement.

"I had to think long and hard about it. It's not a decision I made overnight, it's been something I've been thinking about for five or six months. I think players know when it's the right time to call it a day, and I got that feeling," Robinson admitted.

He leaves the Welsh national team with plenty of memories: his debut against Belarus in 1999, games against the likes of Brazil and Spain, and scoring his first and only goal for his country in a 3-2 win over Northern Ireland in Belfast.

"My family made the trip and they were there, so it was a great occasion," Robinson recalled.

He's also suffered his fair share of disappointment, most notably a 1-0 loss to Russia in Cardiff in a playoff game, a result that saw the Russians advance to Euro 2004 at the expense of Wales.

"I think that was the lowest I felt in my national team career," Robinson stated.

Wales has a long streak of futility

It was a bitter pill to swallow for a country that hasn't qualified for a major international tournament since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden when Wales lost to Brazil in the quarter-finals.

How does Robinson account for Wales' lengthy streak of futility?

"Wales has a small group of players to choose from. We have some talented individuals and we have some good players on paper, but we just never really had the squad depth," Robinson explained.

"That's the hand we've been dealt. We got close a few times but we didn't manage to cross that line."

He does see light at the end of the tunnel, though.

"There's a new era of young Welsh players coming through now, the likes of Aaron Ramsey at Arsenal, so maybe in four or five years they might qualify for a tournament," said Robinson.