Scotland has named their 26 players for their first World Cup in 28 years!
Scotland has announced their 26-man squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup. On Tuesday, May 19, Steve Clarke revealed the players who will travel to North America for the big tournament at Hampden Park.
This will be Scotland’s first World Cup since 1998, following an exciting qualifying campaign that ended with a memorable 4-2 win over Denmark last November.
Scotland kicks off their World Cup on June 14 against Haiti in Boston, then takes on Morocco on June 19, and finishes the group stage against Brazil on June 24 at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. It’s a bit special since Scotland will face Morocco and Brazil again, two of their group opponents from the 1998 World Cup.
Before the tournament, Scotland will host Curacao at Hampden on May 30. After that, the team will head to the USA for a pre-tournament camp in Fort Lauderdale and finish with a warm-up match against Bolivia on June 6 in New Jersey.
The squad announcement brought some surprises. Hull City striker Ollie McBurnie, who scored 17 goals this season, did not make the team. But Ross Stewart from Saints got a surprise call-up after four years away, while Middlesbrough’s Tommy Conway missed out because of injury.
Experienced players like Andy Robertson, John McGinn, and Scott McTominay, who helped secure World Cup qualification, are all included. Young Rangers player Findlay Curtis made the squad, but Lennon Miller and Kieron Bowie, playing in Serie A, were not selected.
Here’s the full squad:
Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon, Angus Gunn, Liam Kelly
Defenders: Grant Hanley, Jack Hendry, Aaron Hickey, Dom Hyam, Scott McKenna, Nathan Patterson, Anthony Ralston, Andy Robertson, John Souttar, Kieran Tierney
Midfielders: Ryan Christie, Findlay Curtis, Lewis Ferguson, Ben Gannon-Doak, Billy Gilmour, John McGinn, Kenny McLean, Scott McTominay
Forwards: Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes, George Hirst, Lawrence Shankland, Ross Stewart
At 43, goalkeeper Craig Gordon could become the second-oldest player to appear in a World Cup game. The oldest is Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary, who played at 45.
Scotland’s goalkeeping picks come with some concerns, as Gordon has only played three times for Hearts this season. Angus Gunn has just 45 minutes of game time with Nottingham Forest this year, and Liam Kelly played only three matches for Rangers.