The
Scotland national football team represents
Scotland
in international
football and is
controlled by the Scottish
Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest
national football team in the world, alongside
England, whom they played in
the world's
first
international football match in 1872.
Scotland maintains its
own national side that competes in all major professional
tournaments with the exception of the Olympic Games, as Scotland is not a member of
the International Olympic Committee
. The majority of Scotland's home matches are
held at the national stadium, Hampden Park
, with friendly
matches sometimes
hosted at club stadiums.
Scotland have qualified for the
FIFA
World Cup and the
UEFA European Football
Championship several times, but have never progressed beyond
the first stage of a tournament.
The team have achieved some noteworthy
results, however, such as beating the 1966 FIFA World Cup winners England 3–2
at Wembley
Stadium
in 1967. Archie
Gemmill scored what has been described as one of the greatest
World Cup goals ever in a 3–2 win during the
1978 World Cup against
Holland, who reached the
final of the tournament. In their qualifying group for
UEFA Euro 2008, Scotland defeated
2006 World Cup runners-up
France 1–0 in both
fixtures.
Scotland's supporters are collectively known as the
Tartan Army. Their
traditional rivals are
England, whom they
played annually from 1872 until 1989, but there have only been
three senior level fixtures since then.
The last match between
the sides was the second leg of a Euro 2000 qualifying
play-off at Wembley
in 1999,
which Scotland won 1–0, although England won the tie 2–1 on
aggregate.
History
Early history
Scotland and
England
are the oldest national football teams in the world.
Teams representing the
two sides first competed at the Oval
in five matches between 1870 and
1872. The two countries contested the first official international
football match, at Hamilton Crescent
in Partick
, Scotland on
30 November 1872. The match ended in a goalless draw.
All eleven
players who represented Scotland that day played for Glasgow
amateur club
Queen's Park. Over the next
forty years, Scotland played matches exclusively against the other
three
Home nations—England,
Wales and
Ireland.
The
British Home
Championship began in 1883, making these games competitive. The
encounters against England were particularly fierce and a
rivalry quickly
developed.
A noteworthy victory for Scotland before the
Second World War was the 5–1 victory over
England in 1928, which led to that Scotland side being known as the
Wembley Wizards. Scotland
won the British Home Championship outright on 24 occasions, and
shared the title 17 times with at least one other team.
In 1929,
Scotland played their first match outside the British Isles,
beating Norway 7–3 in
Bergen
.
Scotland continued to contest regular friendly matches against
European opposition and enjoyed
wins against
Germany
and
France before
losing to the
Austrian Wunderteam and
Italy in 1931.
1950s
The
Home Nations did not enter the three
World Cups before the Second World
War because they were not members of FIFA
.
Prior to the
1950 FIFA World
Cup, FIFA advised that places would be awarded to the top two
teams in the
1950 British
Home Championship. George Graham of the SFA announced, however,
that Scotland would only attend the finals if Scotland won the
competition. When the Scots finished runners-up to
England, Graham stuck to his
guns despite pleas from the Scotland players, supported by England
captain
Billy Wright and the England
players. Instead Graham sent the Scots on a tour of North
America.
The
1954 FIFA World Cup in
Switzerland was the first
FIFA World
Cup at which the Scotland national team competed. To quote the
SFA website, "The preparation was atrocious". The SFA only sent 13
players to the finals, even though FIFA allowed 22 man squads.
Despite this self-imposed hardship in terms of players, the SFA
dignitaries travelled in numbers, accompanied with their wives.
Scotland lost 1–0 against
Austria in their first game
in the finals. This prompted the team manager
Andy Beattie to resign hours before the game
against
Uruguay.
Uruguay were reigning champions and had never before lost a game at
the World Cup finals. The gulf in class was exposed in horrific
fashion as Uruguay won 7–0.
The
1958 FIFA World Cup finals
saw Scotland draw their first game against
Yugoslavia 1–1, but they
then lost to
Paraguay and
France and went out at the
first stage. March 1959 saw the re-appointment of Andy Beattie as
manager until October 1960.
1960s
Under the management of
Ian McColl,
Scotland enjoyed consecutive British Home Championship successes in
1962 and 1963.
Jock Stein,
John Prentice and
Malcolm MacDonald all had brief spells as
manager before
Bobby
Brown was appointed in 1967.
Brown's first match as manager was
against the newly crowned world
champions England at Wembley Stadium
. Despite being underdogs, Scotland won 3–2
thanks to goals from
Denis Law,
Bobby Lennox and
Jim
McCalliog. Having defeated the world champions on their own
turf, the Scotland fans hailed their team as the
unofficial world
champions.
Ormond and MacLeod
After
Tommy Docherty's brief spell as
manager,
Willie Ormond was hired in
1973. Ormond lost his first match in charge 5–0 to England, but
recovered to steer Scotland to their first World Cup finals in 16
years in 1974. At the 1974 World Cup finals in West Germany,
Scotland were unbeaten but failed to progress beyond the group
stages on
goal difference. After
beating
Zaïre, they
drew with both
Brazil
and
Yugoslavia,
and went out because they had beaten Zaïre by the smallest
margin.
Scotland
appointed Ally MacLeod as manager in
1977 with qualification for the 1978
World Cup in Argentina
far from assured. The team made a
strong start under MacLeod by winning the 1977 British Home
Championship, largely thanks to a 2–1 victory over England at
Wembley
Stadium
. The
Scotland
fans invaded the pitch after the match, ripping up the turf and
breaking a crossbar. Scotland's good form continued as they secured
qualification for the World Cup with victories over
Czechoslovakia and
Wales.
During the build-up to the
1978 FIFA
World Cup, MacLeod fuelled the hopes of the nation by stating
that Scotland would come home with a medal.
As the squad left for
the finals in Argentina
, they were given an enthusiastic send off as they
were paraded around a packed Hampden Park
. Thousands more fans lined the route to
Prestwick Airport
as the team set off for South America.
Scotland's first game was against
Peru in Cordoba. Two spectacular
goals by
Teófilo Cubillas
meant that the result was a 3–1 loss. The second game was a very
disappointing 1–1 draw against
Iran. The disconsolate mood of
the nation was reflected by footage of Ally MacLeod in the
dugout with his head in his hands.
After taking a single point from their opening two games, Scotland
had to defeat
Holland by three clear
goals to progress. Despite the Dutch taking the lead, Scotland
fought back to win 3–2 with a goal from
Kenny Dalglish and two from
Archie Gemmill, the second of which is
considered one of the greatest World Cup goals ever; Gemmill beat
three Dutch defenders before lifting the ball over goalkeeper
Jan Jongbloed into the net. The
victory was not sufficient to secure a place in the second round,
however, as Scotland were eliminated on goal difference for the
second successive World Cup.
Stein and Ferguson
MacLeod resigned as manager shortly after the 1978 World Cup.
Jock Stein, who had won nine consecutive
Scottish league
titles and the
European
Cup as manager of
Celtic, appointed
as his successor. After failing to qualify for the
1980 European
Championship, Scotland qualified for the
1982 FIFA World Cup from a tough group
including
Sweden,
Portugal,
Israel and
Northern Ireland,
losing just one match in the process. They beat
New Zealand 5–2 in their
first game at the World Cup, but lost 4–1 to a
Brazil team containing
Socrates,
Zico,
Eder and
Falcão. Scotland were eliminated on goal
difference after a 2–2 draw with the
Soviet Union.
Scotland qualified for their fourth successive
World Cup in 1986 in traumatic
circumstances. The squad went into their last qualification match
against Wales needing a point to reach the tournament in Mexico.
With only nine minutes remaining and Wales leading, Scotland were
awarded a
penalty kick which was calmly
scored by
Davie Cooper. However, as the
players and fans celebrated, national coach
Jock Stein suffered a
heart attack and died shortly afterwards.
Alex Ferguson was handed the role of
manager for the World Cup, for which Scotland gained qualification
by triumphing over
Australia in a two-leg
playoff, but Scotland were eliminated from the tournament with just
one point from their three matches, a goalless draw with
Uruguay.
Roxburgh and Brown
Scotland qualified for their fifth consecutive
World Cup in 1990 by finishing second in
their qualifying group, ahead of
France. Scotland were drawn in
a group with
Costa
Rica, Sweden, and Brazil, but the Scots lost 1–0 to Costa Rica.
While they recovered to beat Sweden 2–1 in their second game, they
lost to Brazil in their third match 1–0 and were once again
eliminated after the first round.
By a narrow margin, Scotland qualified for the
UEFA European Football
Championship for the first time in
1992. A 1–0 defeat to
Romania away from home left
qualification dependent upon other results, but a 1–1 draw between
Bulgaria and Romania
in the final group match saw Scotland squeeze through. Despite
playing well in matches against the Netherlands and Germany and a
fine win against the
CIS,
the team was knocked out at the group stage. Scotland failed to
qualify, however, for the
1994 FIFA
World Cup. The team finished fourth in their
qualifying group
behind
Italy,
Switzerland and Portugal.
When it became clear that Scotland could not qualify,
Andy Roxburgh resigned from his position as
team manager.
New manager
Craig Brown
successfully guided Scotland to the
1996 European
Championship tournament.
The first game against the Netherlands ended
0–0, raising morale ahead of a much anticipated game against
England at Wembley
Stadium
. Gary
McAllister missed a
penalty kick
and a goal by
Paul Gascoigne led to a
2–0 defeat. Scotland recovered to beat
Switzerland 1–0. The
score in the other match meant Scotland were briefly in a position
to qualify, but a late goal for
Holland meant that the
team were once again knocked out on goal difference.
Brown again guided Scotland to qualification for a major tournament
in 1998, and Scotland were drawn against Brazil in the opening game
of the
1998 World Cup.
John Collins equalised from the
penalty spot to level the score at 1–1, but a
Tom Boyd own
goal led to a 2–1 defeat.
Scotland drew their next game 1–1 with
Norway in Bordeaux
, but the final match against Morocco ended in an
embarrassing 3–0 defeat.
During the qualification for the
2000 European
Championship, Scotland faced England in a
two-legged playoff nicknamed the "Battle of
Britain" by the media. Scotland won the second match 1–0, but lost
the tie 2–1 on aggregate. Scotland failed to qualify for the finals
of the
2002 FIFA World Cup,
finishing third in their qualifying group behind
Croatia and
Belgium. This second
successive failure to qualify prompted Brown to resign from his
position after the final qualifying match.
Decline under Vogts
The
Scottish Football
Association appointed former Germany manager
Berti Vogts as
manager
in 2002. Scotland performed badly under Vogts and suffered a series
of heavy defeats, including 6–0 to Holland, 5–0 to France, 4–0 to
Wales, 4–1 to
South Korea and 3–0 to
Hungary, which caused
the team to drop to a record low in the
FIFA World Rankings. Vogts announced his
resignation in 2004, blaming the hostile media for his
departure.
Recovery under Smith and McLeish
Former
Rangers and
Everton manager,
Walter Smith was brought in as
manager in the wake of Vogts' departure. Smith secured victories
against Bulgaria, Norway, the
Faroe Islands and most
notably against France in a far more productive period, with
Scotland rising up the FIFA Rankings. The Scottish players also
lifted their first trophy in years after winning the
Kirin Cup in Japan. Scotland failed to qualify for
the
2006 FIFA World Cup in
Germany with a 3–4–3 win–draw–loss record, finishing third in their
group behind Italy and
Norway.
Smith left the national side in early 2007 to return to club
football, with Scotland leading their
Euro 2008 qualification
group largely thanks to a 1–0 win against France at Hampden.
Alex McLeish was named as Smith's
successor and Scotland's twentieth manager. McLeish's first match
in charge was a 2008 European Championship qualifying match against
Georgia which was won
2–1 by Scotland, making McLeish only the third Scotland manager to
win his first match in charge. McLeish then guided Scotland to wins
against the Faroe Islands,
Lithuania, France and
Ukraine before
defeats to
Georgia
and Italy ended their chances of qualification. These overall
improved results, particularly the wins against France, lifted
Scotland into the top 20 in the FIFA rankings for the first time
since their conception in the mid 1990s. Scotland's best ranking
was 13th in October 2007.
Management of Burley
After the narrow failure to qualify for
Euro 2008,
Alex McLeish resigned the managerial position
to join a few days after the draw for the
2010 FIFA World Cup was made. Scotland's
improved results in the last two campaigns meant the team were
seeded second for
2010
FIFA World Cup qualifying, and they were drawn with
the Netherlands,
Norway,
Macedonia and
Iceland. manager
George Burley was hired as the new manager,
but the team failed to win three preparatory friendlies against
Croatia,
Czech Republic and
Northern
Ireland. Burley came in for criticism from the media after the
team lost their first qualifier against Macedonia, but they
recovered to win 2–1 in Iceland. The next match was a goalless draw
at home against Norway, during which debutant
Chris Iwelumo missed an open goal from three
yards.
Scotland lost their fourth match 3–0 away to
the Netherlands.
captain Barry Ferguson and
goalkeeper Allan McGregor, who had both played in that
match, were dropped for the following match against
Iceland due to a "breach of
discipline". George Burley made five changes in all for the match,
which ended in a 2–1 win for Scotland, with
Ross McCormack and
Steven Fletcher both scoring on
their competitive home debuts. A terrible 4–0 defeat by Norway in
the following qualifier, however, left Scotland effectively needing
to win their last two games to have a realistic chance of making
the qualifying play-offs.
Scotland defeated Macedonia 2–0 in the first
of those two games at Hampden Park
, but were eliminated by a 1–0 loss to the
Netherlands in the second game.
Nonetheless, Burley was allowed to continue in his post after a
review by the
SFA
board. Soon afterwards, joint assistant coach
Steven Pressley stood down from his role to
concentrate on his commitments with
Falkirk. Speaking after the campaign,
Kenny Miller criticised the fixture schedule
that had been agreed for the group, describing it as a "shambles".
Burley came under further pressure after a 3–0
friendly defeat by
Wales, as he conceded that it
was a "very poor" performance, while the
Tartan Army "showed their disgruntlement with
Burley and the SFA" during the match.The SFA sacked Burley on 16
November 2009.
World Cup record
Scotland have played at eight
FIFA World
Cups, including five consecutive tournaments from
1974 to
1990.
During the preparations for the 1928 Olympic Football
Tournament, FIFA
ruled that
all its member associations must provide "broken-time" payments to
cover the expenses of players from their country who
participated. In response to what they considered to be
unacceptable interference, the football associations of Scotland,
England, Ireland and Wales held a meeting at which they agreed to
resign from FIFA. As a result, Scotland did not compete in the
three interwar World Cup competitions. The
Scottish Football Association
did not rejoin FIFA as a permanent member until 1946.
Competition
Scotland have never advanced beyond the first round of the finals
competition. They have missed out on progressing to the second
round three times on goal difference: in
1974, when
Brazil edged them out; in
1978, when the
Netherlands progressed;
and in
1982, when the
USSR went through. Although
Scotland have played at eight finals tournaments, they have
qualified on nine occasions. The Scottish Football Association
declined to participate in
1950
as Scotland were not the
British champions.
| Year |
Round |
Position |
Matches |
Wins |
Draws |
Losses |
GF |
GA |
| 1930–1938 |
Did not enter |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1950 |
Withdrew |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1954 |
Round 1 |
15 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
| 1958 |
Round 1 |
14 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
| 1962–1970 |
Did not qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1974 |
Round 1 |
9 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
| 1978 |
Round 1 |
11 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
6 |
| 1982 |
Round 1 |
15 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
8 |
| 1986 |
Round 1 |
19 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
| 1990 |
Round 1 |
19 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
| 1994 |
Did not qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1998 |
Round 1 |
27 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
| 2002–2010 |
Did not qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Totals |
8/19 |
|
23 |
4 |
7 |
12 |
25 |
41 |
European Championship record
Scotland have qualified for two
European Championships
but have failed to advance beyond the first round on both
occasions, most recently at the
1996 European
Championship, where the Netherlands progressed on
goals scored.
| Year |
Result |
Matches |
Wins |
Draws |
Losses |
GF |
GA |
| 1960–1964 |
Did not enter |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1968–1988 |
Did not qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1992 |
Round 1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
| 1996 |
Round 1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| 2000–2008 |
Did not qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Totals |
2/13 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
Stadium
Hampden Park
in Glasgow
is the traditional home of the Scotland team and is
described by the Scottish
Football Association as the National Stadium.
The present stadium, which has a 52,000 capacity, is one of several
stadiums to have used the name. Hampden and its predecessors have
hosted international matches since 1878. The attendance record of
149,415 was set by the Scotland v England match in 1937. Hampden is
one of only two
Scottish football
stadiums to receive a
UEFA
5–star rating.
Some
friendly matches are played at
smaller venues, such as when Scotland played South Africa at Pittodrie
Stadium
in Aberdeen
during August 2007. Easter Road
Stadium in Edinburgh
has hosted four friendly matches since 1998.
Other stadiums were also used while Hampden was being redeveloped
during the late 1990s.
Celtic Park
, Pittodrie
, Ibrox
Stadium
and Rugby
Park
all hosted matches during the 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign,
while Tynecastle
Stadium
, Pittodrie, Celtic Park and Ibrox were used for
Euro 2000
qualifying matches.
Since the last redevelopment to Hampden was completed in 1999,
Scotland have played all but one of their competitive matches
there. The exception to this rule was when Celtic Park hosted the
first
Euro 2008
qualification match against the
Faroe Islands. Celtic
Park was used because the fixtures were decided by a random draw
and Hampden had already been booked for a
Robbie Williams concert on the same
date.
Media coverage
Scotland's home matches are presently covered by the pay-TV
broadcaster
Sky Sports. Extended
highlights of every Scotland home international are shown on
terrestrial television by
BBC Sport
Scotland. Television rights to away games vary, although the
rights to all of Scotland's away matches in
qualification for the
2010 FIFA World Cup were held by
Setanta Sports, another pay-TV
broadcaster, until they ceased trading in the UK in June
2009.
These arrangements have been criticised by the
Scottish Government, who have argued
that Scotland's competitive games should be included in the
list of
events which can only be broadcast on free-to-air television.
The
Scottish Football
Association have argued, however, that limiting the rights to
free-to-air broadcasters would severely
reduce the amount of revenue that they could generate.
BBC Sport Scotland,
STV,
Sky Sports, and
Five are among other networks that have
previously shown live fixtures. All matches are broadcast with full
commentary on
BBC Radio Scotland
and, when schedules allow,
BBC Radio 5
Live also. In Australia, Scotland's national football team home
games and selected away games are broadcast by
Setanta Sports Australia.
Colours
Scotland traditionally wear dark blue shirts with white shorts and
dark blue socks, the colours of the
Queen's Park team who represented Scotland
in the first international. The blue Scotland shirt was earlier
used in a February 1872
rugby
international, with reports stating that "the scotch were easily
distinguishable by their uniform of blue jerseys.... the jerseys
having the thistle embroidered". The thistle had previously been
worn to represent Scotland in the 1871 rugby international, but on
brown shirts. The shirt is
embroidered with a crest based upon the lion rampant of the
Royal Standard of
Scotland. The current change kit is all white with a pastel
blue
saltire across the chest. Another style
often used by Scotland comprises blue shirts, white shorts and red
socks. Change colours vary, but are most commonly white or yellow
shirts with blue shorts. From 1994–96 a tartan kit was used. The
current version of the crest includes the Scottish flag and a
background of thistles, representing the national flower of
Scotland, in addition to the lion rampant.
Scotland have not always played in dark blue; on a number of
occasions between 1881 and 1951 they played in the primrose and
pink racing colours of
Archibald Primrose, 5th
Earl of Rosebery.
A former Prime Minister, Lord
Rosebery was an influential figure in Scottish football, serving as
honorary President of the Scottish Football Association
and Edinburgh
team Hearts. His colours were
used most frequently in the first decade of the twentieth century,
but were discontinued in 1909. The colours were briefly reprised in
1949, and were last used against
France in 1951. In 1900, when
Scotland defeated England 4–1. Lord Rosebery remarked, "I have
never seen my colours so well sported since Ladas won the
Derby".
Since 2005, the SFA have supported the use of
Scots Gaelic on the national team's strip in
recognition of the language's revival in Scotland.
Supporters

The Tartan Army in Milan, Italy
Scotland fans are collectively known as the
Tartan Army.
During the 1970s, Scotland fans became known
for their hooliganism,
particularly after they invaded the
Wembley
pitch and destroyed the goalposts after the England
v Scotland match in 1977. Since then, the Tartan Army have
won awards from
UEFA for their combination of
vocal support, friendly nature and charity work. The Tartan Army
have been awarded a
Fair Play prize by
the
Belgian Olympic
Committee and were named as the best supporters during the
1992 European
Championship. The fans were also presented with a trophy for
non-violence in sport and were voted by journalists to be the best
supporters for their sense of fair play and sporting spirit at the
1998 World Cup in France.
Players
Current squad
The following players were selected for the squad to play
Wales in November 2009.
Other recent players
The following players are not in the current squad, but have been
selected to play for Scotland since 20 November 2008.
- JPN Most recent cap v. Japan, 10 October 2009
- NED2 Most recent cap v. Netherlands, 9 September
2009
- MKD Most recent cap v. Macedonia, 5 September
2009
- NOR Most recent cap v. Norway, 12 August 2009
- ISL Most recent cap v. Iceland, 1 April 2009
- NED Most recent cap v. Netherlands, 28 March
2009
Honoured players
The
Scottish Football
Association operates a
roll of
honour for every player who has made more than 50 appearances
for Scotland. As of 2008, there are 25 members of this roll, with
David Weir the most
recent addition to the list. The qualifying mark of 50 appearances
means that many notable Scotland players including
Jim Baxter,
Hughie
Gallacher,
John Greig,
Jimmy Johnstone,
Billy McNeill,
Bobby
Murdoch and
Lawrie Reilly are not
on the roll of honour.
The
Scottish
Football Museum
operates a hall of
fame
which is open to players and managers involved in Scottish football. This means
that membership is not restricted to people who have played for
Scotland; inductees include
Brian
Laudrup and
Henrik Larsson. At
the most recent induction ceremony,
John Thomson,
Bill Struth,
Billy
Liddell,
Jim Leighton,
Derek Johnstone,
Bobby Evans,
Archie
Gemmill and
Ian St. John were added
to its membership.
Sportscotland
operates the
Scottish
Sports Hall of Fame, which has
inducted some
footballers.
Managers
From 1872 to 1954 and 1954 to 1958 the Scotland national team was
appointed by a selection committee.
Andy
Beattie was manager for six matches in 1954 when Scotland
competed at their first World Cup. After the tournament the
selection committee resumed their duties, continuing until the
appointment of
Matt Busby in 1958.
Statistically the most successful manager was
Alex McLeish, who won seven of the ten games he
took charge of. Discounting managers who have managed less than ten
games, the least successful manager is the most recent manager
George Burley, with just three wins in
14 games.
| Name |
Scotland career |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Win % |
| Selection committee |
1872–1954
1954–1958
|
|
1954
|
|
1958
|
|
1958
|
|
1959–1960
|
|
1960–1965
|
|
1965–1966
|
|
1966
|
|
1966–1967
|
|
1967–1971
|
|
1971–1972
|
|
1973–1977
|
|
1977–1978
|
|
1978–1985
|
|
1985–1986
|
|
1986–1993
|
|
1993–2002
|
|
2002–2004
|
|
2004
|
|
2004–2007
|
|
2007
|
|
2008–2009
|
| Totals |
690 |
327 |
152 |
211 |
|
Last updated: Wales 3 – 0 Scotland, 14 November
2009. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised
matches only.
Records
Kenny Dalglish holds the record for
Scotland appearances, having played 102 times between 1971 and
1986. He is the only Scotland player to have reached 100
caps.
Jim Leighton
is second, having played 91 times, a record for appearances by a
goalkeeper. Former Scotland manager
Alex McLeish played for Scotland 77
times and is the third most capped player.
The title of Scotland's highest goalscorer is shared by two
players.
Denis Law scored 30 goals between
1958 and 1974, during which time he played for Scotland on 55
occasions.
Kenny Dalglish scored an
equal number from 102 appearances.
Hughie Gallacher as well as being the third
highest scorer is also the most prolific with his 23 goals coming
from only 20 games (averaging 1.15 goals per game). Other notable
strikers include,
Lawrie Reilly,
Ally McCoist,
Mo
Johnston and
Joe
Jordan.
The largest margin of victory achieved by a Scotland side is 11–0
against
Ireland
in the
1901 British Home
Championship. The record defeat occurred during the
1954 FIFA World Cup, a 7–0 deficit
against reigning world champions
Uruguay.
Scotland's
1937 British
Home Championship match against England set a new world record
for a football attendance. The Hampden Park crowd was officially
recorded as 149,415, though the true figure is unknown as a large
number of additional fans gained unauthorised entry. This
attendance was surpassed 13 years later by the
1950 World Cup final, but remains a
European record.
United Kingdom team
Scotland has always participated by itself in most of the major
tournaments, such as the
FIFA World
Cup and the
UEFA European
Championship. At the
Olympic
Games, however, the rules only permit a
United Kingdom team to
compete.
London's successful bid
for the 2012 Summer
Olympics, prompted suggestions that a combined UK team be
created for the tournament. However, the
Scottish Football Association
has stated that it will not participate in such a team as doing so
would threaten the independent status of the Scottish side.
FIFA
President Sepp
Blatter has stated that a UK team would not threaten the
continued existence of the Scotland team, but the SFA has expressed
concern that a future President could take a different
view.
Despite the opposition of the Scottish FA, the
Welsh FA and the
Northern Irish FA, the formation
of a squad comprising players only from
England remains a
possibility. Indeed, Blatter has encouraged this possibility. In
response, groups representing the supporters of all four national
teams have stated their opposition to a UK team and have issued a
joint statement.
See also
References
- The competition did not use goal difference or goal average to
separate teams level on points, so the title was shared
instead.
- BBC - A Sporting Nation - Scotland and the 1950
World Cup
- "The Queens" by Iain McCartney on Creedon Publications,
2004
- Scottish Football Association: The Scottish FA:
Football in Scotland
- Murphy, Alex. Docherty: spirit is Scotland’s secret weapon,
The Times,
4 June 2007.
- Andrew Ward, "Scotland: The Team" (The Breedon Book Publishing
Company Limited, Derby, 1987), page 60.
- Goals for / scored
- Goals against / conceded
- Scotland qualified for the tournament as they finished in the
top two positions in the 1950 British Home
Championship, but the SFA withdrew Scotland's entry because
they were not British champions.
- (archive.org mirror)
- Daily News (London, England), Tuesday, 6 February 1872; Issue
8042.
- Glasgow Herald, 28 March 1871;
Issue 9746.
- p77
- Cardiff City is a Welsh club that plays in
the English league.
- Dawson Walker was left in charge of the players due to the
Munich air disaster, in which official manager Matt Busby was
seriously injured.
- Tommy Burns was manager on a caretaker basis only.
External links