Introduction
Hello, my name is Steven and I’m the Marketing Assistant for Stagecoach East Scotland and today to help you get in the mood for Scotland taking part in the big tournament in Germany we’re going to go through who is in the squad and get to know them a little bit by highlighting their careers in a Scotland jersey.
Before we do, are you planning to go to the pub, a fan zone or a friend's house to watch any of the games in Germany? Why not consider allowing us to get you there? There are many different ticket options that can suit you for whatever time of the day you are going out. If you're heading out after 6pm and in the Fife, Perth & Kinross and Dundee & Angus areas then you can take advantage of our great value NightRider ticket which will only cost you £3.50. Also, on our dedicated page for the championships, you can read other blogs and take part in our Scotland football quiz and be in with a chance of winning some goodies! Find out more here.
Goalkeepers
Angus Gunn
Angus Gunn plays for his club football for Norwich City in the English Championship. Gunn born in England was eligible to play for Scotland through his Dad and despite being called up for England in the past he decided to switch to Scotland in March 2023. He made his Scotland debut in a 3-0 win against Cyprus later that month and has gone on to make 10 appearances so far and will very likely add to that number in Germany.
Zander Clark
Zander Clark came into the Scotland later in his career. He currently plays for Heart of Midlothian but spent the majority of his career at St Johnstone where he won the Scottish Cup and League Cup with the Perth Saints. Clark was called up to the Scotland squad in August 2021, but wouldn’t make his debut for the national team until October 2023 in a friendly against France. Clark has gone on to make four appearances for Scotland.
Liam Kelly
Liam Kelly was a shock choice to make the squad for the tournament ahead of Scotland legend Craig Gordon. Kelly worked his way into the squad with his performances for Motherwell who he is leaving at the end of this season. Kelly got called up for the first in March 2019 and would be called up a lot without making any appearances. Kelly would make his one and only appearance for Scotland in October 2023, in the same friendly against France that Zander Clark made his debut.
Defenders
Anthony Ralston
Anthony Ralston plies his trade for Celtic mainly as their backup right back. Ralston has racked up a number of trophies since breaking into the Celtic first-team and has become a dependable backup for Celtic. Ralston would earn his first Scotland call-up in November 2021, and he would make his debut against Denmark coming on as a late substitute for Kieran Tierney. On his second appearance for Scotland, Ralston would get his first goal when he scored in a Nations League group match win against Armenia. Ralston has made 8 appearances for Scotland with 1 goal to his name.
Andy Robertson
Andy Robertson is probably the biggest star in the Scotland squad. The left-back currently plays for Liverpool and has a Premier League and Champions League winners medal to his name. He started his career at Queen’s Park then went to Dundee United before heading down south to Hull City which earned his Liverpool move.
Robertson was called up to the Scotland squad for the first time in March 2014 and made his debut against Poland in Warsaw as a second-half substitute. Later on in the year, he would make his first start for Scotland in a 2-2 draw against Nigeria. His first goal for Scotland would come in November 2014 in a 3-1 defeat to England at Celtic Park.
The Liverpool defender was awarded the captaincy for Scotland by then-manager Alex McLeish. He would lead Scotland to qualification for the championships in which were delayed a year due to the pandemic in 2021. Scotland would be knocked out in the group stages after defeats to the Czech Republic and Croatia and a draw against England.
In September 2021, Robertson won his 50th cap for Scotland and then he joined the Scottish FA International Roll of Honour.
Robertson would go on to help Scotland qualify for the upcoming tournament in Germany and in a friendly before the tournament would break the record for the most-capped male captain for Scotland when he earned his 49th cap as captain in a 2-2 draw with Finland. He has currently made 71 overall appearances for Scotland scoring 3 goals.
Grant Hanley
Grant Hanley currently plays for Norwich City in the Championship alongside Angus Gunn though he did miss a lot of the previous season through injury.
Hanley would get his first call-up for Scotland back in February 2011 ahead of our Nations Cup game against Northern Ireland but wouldn’t make his debut in that match. Hanley would have to wait until May 2011 to make his debut when he replaced Gary Caldwell in a Nations Cup match against Wales.
He would get his first goal for Scotland in a qualifying match against Wales in March 2013 so clearly playing Wales means a lot to Hanley. He would feature in the team that qualified for the championships in 2021 and would play in all three games Scotland played at the tournament. Hanley has currently made 49 appearances for Scotland scoring 2 goals. He will likely win his 50th cap for Scotland in Germany.
Kieran Tierney
Kieran Tierney is currently contracted to Arsenal, but last season was out on loan at La Liga side Real Sociedad. Tierney came through the ranks at Celtic and broke into the Celtic first team at an early age. Tierney would win back-to-back domestic trebles with Celtic along with many individual awards before making his move to Arsenal.
Tierney would earn his first call-up for Scotland in March 2016 in a friendly against Denmark. He would play for the first half in a 1-0 win for Scotland. Despite playing in the same position as captain Andy Robertson, he would find his way into the team either playing at right back or as a central defender in a back three.
Tierney’s career has been blighted by injury problems but still managed to make 45 caps for Scotland. He was part of the team that qualified for the last championships in 2021 but missed the opening game against the Czech Republic due to injury but did feature against England and Croatia. He would go on to get his one and only goal for Scotland in March 2022 when he scored in a friendly against Poland. He would miss the crucial playoff defeat to Ukraine due to injury once again.
Jack Hendry
Jack Hendry has been a man of many clubs in his career which has included spells with Dundee and Celtic. He is now plying his trade in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq.
Hendry would receive his first call-up for Scotland in March 2018 and would make his debut in a friendly win against Hungary. He wouldn’t be recalled to the national side again until 2021 but then would become a regular in the side. He would be in the squad that went to the last championships and scored in a pre-tournament friendly against the Netherlands.
Overall, Hendry has made 31 appearances for Scotland and scored three goals. His other two goals came in games against Austria and the Republic of Ireland.
Ryan Porteous
Ryan Porteous is currently playing for Watford in the English Championship having played the majority of his career with Hibs before making the move down south in 2023.
Porteous did earn a call up to the squad in November 2019 but didn’t get on the pitch. He would be called up to a couple more squads after that but wouldn’t feature before finally making his debut in September 2022 against Ukraine.
Porteous has gone on to make 11 international appearances and has gotten 1 goal to his name when he got on the scoresheet against Cyprus in a qualifier for the tournament in Germany.
Liam Cooper
Liam Cooper was born in England but is eligible to play for Scotland through his grandfather. Cooper currently plays for Leeds United in the English Championship where he has been since 2014.
Cooper got his first call-up to the squad in March 2016 in a friendly against Denmark but would have to wait three more years to make his debut which came in a 2-1 to Russia in September 2019. A muscle injury meant that Cooper missed the playoff match against Serbia to see who got to the last championships. He did make the tournament and started the opening match for Scotland against the Czech Republic. Overall, Cooper has made 19 appearances for Scotland.
Ross McCrorie
The former Rangers defender Ross McCrorie now stars for Bristol City in the English Championship. McCrorie moved to Bristol City from Aberdeen in 2023.
McCrorie has been called up to a few squads without making an appearance but when injuries hit the right-back position ahead of this summer’s tournament he made his debut for Scotland in a 2-0 win against Gibraltar. This remains his only appearance so far in a Scotland jersey and it remains to be seen if he will get the nod at right wing-back in the tournament.
Greg Taylor
Greg Taylor has become the main left-back for Celtic since joining the club in 2019 from Kilmarnock. Taylor has been part of the Celtic team that clinched the quadruple treble in 2020 and then another treble in 2023.
Taylor would receive his first call-up for the squad in June 2019 but would remain on the bench for the home game against Cyprus. Taylor would make his debut in June 2019 when Andy Robertson picked up an injury in a game against Belgium in Brussels. Taylor has managed to make 14 appearances for Scotland despite having Robertson in front of him in the pecking order at left-back.
Scott McKenna
Scott McKenna was contracted to English Premier League side Nottingham Forest, but he will be leaving the club this summer. The former Aberdeen defender found himself out of the Forest team and spent the second half of last season in Denmark with FC Copenhagen.
McKenna would receive his first taste of international football in March 2018 when he made his debut in a 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica. McKenna has made 35 appearances for Scotland and has 1 goal to his name which came in a 2-0 win against Armenia in the Nations League in June 2022.
Midfielders
Scott McTominay
Scott McTominay is another player who was born in England but qualifies to play for Scotland through his father. McTominay has played for Manchester United his whole career and only just a few weeks ago won the FA Cup.
McTominay was given his Scotland debut in March 2018 in the 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica playing the first 57 minutes of the match. McTominay would quickly a regular in the first 11 and his ability to play in other positions became invaluable at the last championships when he played all three games at centre-half. After being put back in a more familiar midfield role McTominay was the standout performer in qualification for this tournament scoring seven goals as we headed to Germany.
McTominay has made 49 appearances for Scotland and for sure will hit the 50 cap mark in Germany and get his name in the Roll of Honour. The Manchester United midfielder has 8 goals to his name in a Scotland jersey with the majority of those coming recently as previously mentioned.
John McGinn
John McGinn is currently the captain of Aston Villa who have just qualified for the Champions League. McGinn previously played for St Mirren where he won the League Cup and Hibs where he won the Scottish Cup and Championship.
McGinn would receive his first call-up to the Scotland squad in March 2016 for a friendly against Denmark where Scotland won 1-0 and McGinn played the full 90 minutes and was awarded man of the match. McGinn banged in the goals for Scotland in the qualification campaign for the last championships getting 7 goals in that campaign.
The Villa captain would have the honour to captain Scotland when regular captain Andy Robertson was suspended for 1-0 win against the Czech Republic in October 2020. He would also go on to make his 50th cap for Scotland in September 2022 in a 2-1 win against the Republic of Ireland.
Overall, McGinn has now 66 Scotland caps to his name and has 18 goals.
Callum McGregor
Callum McGregor has spent the entire of his career at Celtic where he has won trophy after trophy, and he became the captain of Celtic when Scott Brown left the club in 2021.
McGregor was called up to the squad in 2014 but wouldn’t make his debut for the national side until November 2017 in a friendly against the Netherlands. He would become a pivotal part of the Scotland midfield and would score a crucial penalty in the win against Serbia that qualified Scotland for the last championships. He went on to play in all three games at that tournament and would get the only goal for Scotland at the tournament in a 3-1 defeat to Croatia which was his first goal for Scotland. He would get two more goals for Scotland and is currently on 60 caps.
Billy Gilmour
Billy Gilmour started in the youth ranks at Rangers before making his way to Chelsea. After struggling to break into the first team at Stamford Bridge, Gilmour made his way to Brighton and this season has become a regular starter in their midfield.
Gilmour was first called up to the Scotland squad for the last championships and made his debut coming off the bench in a pre-tournament friendly against the Netherlands. In the tournament, Gilmour would start against England in a 0-0 draw at Wembley and would be awarded the man of the match. Unfortunately, for Gilmour, he would then test positive for Covid-19 and miss the final group match against Croatia.
Gilmour has gone on to be a regular in the Scotland set-up since then and has racked up 27 appearances and his only goal came in a 4-1 friendly defeat to France in October 2023.
Stuart Armstrong
Stuart Armstrong started his career at Dundee United before making the move to Celtic in 2015. After a successful spell with Celtic, Armstrong earned a move down to Southampton in the English Premier League in 2018 but will leave the club at the end of his contract this summer.
Armstrong was initially brought up to the Scotland squad in 2013 but wouldn’t make his debut until March 2017 in a 1-0 win against Slovenia. He made an impression straight away as then manager Gordon Strachan called his performance “the best Scotland debut I have ever seen”.
His first goal for Scotland would come later in 2017 when he scored in a 3-0 win against Lithuania. Overall, Armstrong has made 50 caps for Scotland and scored five goals.
Lewis Morgan
Lewis Morgan is currently playing in the MLS in America, for New York Red Bulls after joining them in 2022 from Inter Miami. He started his career with St Mirren where his performances earned him a move to Celtic, but it didn’t work out for Morgan at Parkhead.
Morgan was a late call-up to the Scotland for the championships after the injury to Lyndon Dykes. Morgan was first called up in May 2018 where he made his debut in a 2-0 defeat to Peru. He wouldn’t be involved again until now and has only two caps to his name.
Ryan Jack
Ryan Jack came through the ranks at Aberdeen and would make over 200 appearances for the club which included winning the League Cup in 2014. He moved to Rangers in 2017 and won the Scottish Premiership title in 2021 and Scottish Cup in 2022. Jack will leave Rangers this summer.
Jack would be called up to the Scotland squad in 2013 but like others in this squad wouldn’t make his debut too much later. His debut came in a friendly against the Netherlands in November 2017. He helped Scotland qualify for the previous championships but would miss out on the tournament due to a calf injury.
Overall, Jack has made 20 appearances for Scotland and hasn’t managed to get on the scoresheet yet.
Kenny McLean
Kenny McLean is currently playing with Norwich City in the English Championship alongside Angus Gunn and Grant Hanley. McLean also had successful spells with St Mirren and Aberdeen.
McLean received his first senior call-up in March 2016 for a friendly against the Czech Republic and he would play 57 minutes in that match. He would get his first goal for Scotland in March 2019 in a 2-0 away win against San Marino. McLean would score crucial penalties in the shootouts against Israel and Serbia in the playoffs for the last championships. Unfortunately, McLean would miss the tournament with a knee ligament injury.
McLean was back in the squad in the qualifiers for the championships in Germany and scored a famous goal in the comeback win against Norway. Overall, McLean has made 39 appearances for Scotland and has scored two goals.
James Forrest
James Forrest has been at Celtic for the duration of his career with him winning many trophies in his time at the club.
Forrest made his Scotland debut in May 2011 when he played against the Republic of Ireland in a Nations Cup match. It would take until 2018 for Forrest to get his first goals for Scotland when he got two goals in a 4-0 away win against Albania. Days later he would then get a hat trick in a 3-2 win against Israel that qualified Scotland for the playoffs for the last championships. Forrest was part of the squad that took part in the last championships but would only make one sub-appearance in the opening game against the Czech Republic.
He then didn’t feature for Scotland until being recalled to the squad for the upcoming tournament due to a good run of form in the Celtic team towards the end of the season. Overall, Forrest has made 39 appearances for Scotland and scored 5 goals.
Attackers
Lawrence Shankland
Lawrence Shankland is currently the captain of Heart of Midlothian and has had spells with Queen’s Park, Aberdeen and Dundee United. Shankland finished the season as the highest goalscorer in the Scottish Premiership.
Shankland was called up to the Scotland squad for the first time in October 2019 and won his first cap when he came on in a 4-0 defeat to Russia. A few days later he would make his first start and get his first goal in a 6-0 win over San Marino at Hampden. Shankland would be recalled in March 2023. He would get his second goal for Scotland in a 2-2 draw against Georgia in November 2023.
Overall, Shankland has made 11 appearances for Scotland and has 3 goals to his name.
Che Adams
Che Adams is another player who was born in England but is eligible to play for Scotland through his maternal grandmother. Adams currently plays for Southampton who have won promotion back to the English Premier League.
Adams would make his debut for Scotland as a second-half sub in a qualifier against Austria in March 2021. He would get his first goal for Scotland six days after his debut in a 4-0 win against the Faroe Islands. Adams featured in all three games at the previous tournament starting two matches and coming off the bench in one.
Overall, Adams has made 30 appearances for Scotland and has 6 goals.
Ryan Christie
Ryan Christie is currently playing for Bournemouth in the English Premier League. He has previously played for Inverness Caley Thistle and Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
Christie would receive his first call-up for Scotland in a friendly against the Netherlands in November 2017 and played the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 defeat. Christie would score his first goal for Scotland in a 2-1 away win against Cyprus in November 2019. Christie would score in the playoff final against Serbia that Scotland won to qualify for the last championships.
Overall, Christie has made 49 appearances for Scotland scoring 6 goals. He will be another player who will surely get his 50th cap in Germany.
Tommy Conway
Tommy Conway has spent his short career at Bristol City with a couple of loan spells to gain some experience.
Conway has only recently received his first call-up to the Scotland squad due to injuries to Lyndon Dykes and Ben Doak. He would make his debut and only appearance so far for Scotland in a 2-2 draw against Finland in a pre-tournament friendly.