Scotland at the FIFA World Cup 2026

History

Scotland are one of the most experienced nations never to advance beyond the group stage of a World Cup. The 2026 edition is their ninth World Cup finals appearance, having previously participated in 1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, and 1998. Scotland went 28 years without a World Cup appearance between France 1998 and 2026. Their closest calls to progressing came in 1974 (unbeaten but eliminated on goal difference behind Brazil and Yugoslavia), 1978 (eliminated on goal difference with the Netherlands advancing), and 1982 (eliminated on goal difference by the Soviet Union). The 1978 tournament is also remembered for Archie Gemmill's celebrated individual goal against the Netherlands.

Qualification

Scotland qualified for the 2026 World Cup by winning UEFA qualifying Group C, which also contained Denmark, Greece, and Belarus. Each team played six matches in a home-and-away format compressed into the September to November 2025 window. Scotland clinched qualification with a dramatic 4-2 victory over Denmark at Hampden Park on 18 November 2025, with Kieran Tierney scoring in stoppage time to secure top spot. It was Scotland's first World Cup qualification since France 1998, under Steve Clarke, who has been in charge since May 2019 and now holds the record for most matches as Scotland manager.

Preparation

Steve Clarke named his 26-man squad in late May 2026. The squad gathered for their first pre-tournament training sessions at Lesser Hampden in Glasgow ahead of the trip to North America, with five young or fringe players invited to train with the group, including Manchester United's Tyler Fletcher. Scotland's first pre-tournament friendly, against Curacao at Hampden Park on 30 May, ended in a 4-1 win: Findlay Curtis scored his first international goal before half-time and Lawrence Shankland struck twice, with Ryan Christie adding a penalty against ten-man Curacao (Jurgen Locadia was sent off for an elbow on Aaron Hickey). The day was overshadowed by a serious knee injury to Billy Gilmour, who went down without contact and was ruled out of the World Cup; on 31 May Tyler Fletcher, who had made his debut as a half-time substitute against Curacao, was called into the 26-man squad to replace him. A second friendly against Bolivia is scheduled for 6 June at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, after which the team relocates to its tournament base camp in Charlotte, North Carolina, training at Charlotte FC's high-performance facility ahead of the group opener against Haiti on 14 June. Scotland's three group matches are against Haiti (14 June), Morocco (19 June), and Brazil (24 June).

Latest news

Tyler Fletcher called into World Cup squad to replace injured Gilmour

· squad

Scotland added 19-year-old Manchester United midfielder Tyler Fletcher to their 26-man World Cup squad on 31 May as a replacement for the injured Billy Gilmour. Fletcher, son of former captain Darren Fletcher, had made his debut as a half-time substitute against Curacao and was chosen ahead of standby trio Lennon Miller, Connor Barron and Andy Irving.

Billy Gilmour ruled out of the World Cup with knee injury

· injuries

Napoli midfielder Billy Gilmour suffered a knee injury without contact in the first half of Scotland's 4-1 friendly win over Curacao on 30 May and was ruled out of the 2026 World Cup, returning to Napoli for rehabilitation. Steve Clarke said he was 'devastated' and called the timing 'so, so cruel' for a player integral to the qualifying campaign.

Scotland beat ten-man Curacao 4-1 in World Cup send-off friendly

· matches

Scotland beat Curacao 4-1 at Hampden Park in their first pre-tournament friendly on 30 May. Tahith Chong put Curacao ahead before Findlay Curtis equalised with his first international goal; Lawrence Shankland scored twice and Ryan Christie added a penalty. Curacao's Jurgen Locadia was sent off in the first half for an elbow on Aaron Hickey.

Squad

PlayerPositionClub
Craig GordonGKHearts
Angus GunnGKNottingham Forest
Liam KellyGKRangers
Grant HanleyDFHibernian
Jack HendryDFAl-Ettifaq
Aaron HickeyDFBrentford
Dom HyamDFWrexham
Scott McKennaDFDinamo Zagreb
Nathan PattersonDFEverton
Anthony RalstonDFCeltic
Andy RobertsonDFLiverpool
John SouttarDFRangers
Kieran TierneyDFCeltic
Ryan ChristieMFBournemouth
Finlay CurtisMFRangers
Lewis FergusonMFBologna
Ben Gannon-DoakMFBournemouth
Tyler FletcherMFManchester United
John McGinnMFAston Villa
Kenny McLeanMFNorwich City
Scott McTominayMFNapoli
Che AdamsFWTorino
Lyndon DykesFWCharlton Athletic
George HirstFWIpswich Town
Lawrence ShanklandFWHearts
Ross StewartFWSouthampton

Recent results

  • 2024-03-22 — NED 4-0 SCO (friendly)
  • 2024-03-26 — SCO 0-1 NIR (friendly)
  • 2024-06-03 — GIB 0-2 SCO (friendly)
  • 2024-06-07 — SCO 2-2 FIN (friendly)
  • 2025-06-06 — SCO 1-3 ISL (friendly)
  • 2025-06-09 — LIE 0-4 SCO (friendly)
  • 2025-09-05 — DEN 0-0 SCO (qualification)
  • 2025-09-08 — BLR 0-2 SCO (qualification)
  • 2025-10-09 — SCO 3-1 GRE (qualification)
  • 2025-10-12 — SCO 2-1 BLR (qualification)
  • 2025-11-15 — GRE 3-2 SCO (qualification)
  • 2025-11-18 — SCO 4-2 DEN (qualification)
  • 2026-03-28 — SCO 0-1 JPN (friendly)
  • 2026-03-31 — CIV 1-0 SCO (friendly)
  • 2026-05-30 — SCO 4-1 CUW (friendly)

Predict Group C →