Steve Clarke names Scotland’s first 26-man World Cup squad in 28 years | OneFootball

Steve Clarke has announced his final 26-man squad that will represent Scotland at the 2026 World Cup for the first time in nearly 30 years.

The Scotland boss has picked his 26-man team that will compete at the tournament in the US, Canada, and Mexico, with it being a first appearance at the finals since 1998.

Clarke has long had a set squad throughout his six-years in charge of Scotland but there are still plenty of notable omissions and surprise inclusions to unpack with his squad announcement.

Hearts have taken the SPL and the wider footballing world by storm this year, they are rewarded with some new inclusions in the squad. Veteran keeper Craig Gordon, at 43 is included after missing out on the last European Championships.

He makes up one of three goalkeepers Clarke has picked alongside Rangers’ Liam Kelly and Nottingham Forests’ Angus Gunn.

Scotland’s defenders have primarily been the mainstays throughout Clarke’s reign and several of those remain in the side that includes Captain and Liverpool’s Andy Robertson, Celtic’s Kieran Tierney, Ranger’s John Souttar and Brentfords Aaron Hickey.

All of those players have been integral to Scotland’s qualifying campaign and have been rewarded with the chance to represent the country in North America.

In midfield, the mercurial Scott McTominay will be jetting off with Aston Villa captain John McGinn who have both been at the heart of everything good about Scotland in recent years. Bournemouth’s Ben Gannon-Doak is also selected after a decent enough season at the Vitality as is Lewis Ferguson who has been starring in Italy alongside McTominay.

There is a notable admission up-front however, Hull City striker Oli McBurnie has been left out which has cause a fair deal of surprise considering he has racked up 17 goals and eight assists in the Championship for a side that could very well get promoted to the Premier League this weekend.

Instead of McBurnie, Southampton striker Ross Stewart has been called up to achieve his first caps since 2022 after he has hugely impressed on the south coast.

Elsewhere, Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland has more than earned his call up after a sensational season at Tynecastle where he’s bagged 16 goals. Ipswich’s George Hurst has also been called up as has Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes, both of whom have been mainstays for Steve Clarke throughout qualification.

Steve Clarke’s side confirmed their place in this years edition of the tournament through a dramatic 4-2 victory over Denmark at Hampden Park back in November.

The Tartan Army will be gearing up to face Haiti on the 14th of June at 2am, Morocco on the 19th of June at 11pm and giants Brazil in their final group game on the 24th of June with a kick off time of 11pm.

Scotland’s World Cup squad

Goalkeepers:

Craig Gordon (Hearts), Liam Kelly (Rangers), Angus Gunn (Nottingham Forest)

Defenders:

Grant Hanley (Hibernian), Jack Hendry (Al-Ettifaq), Aaron Hickey (Brentford), Dominic Hyam (Wrexham), Scott McKenna (Dynamo Zagreb), Nathan Patterson (Everton), Anthony Ralston (Celtic), Andy Robertson (Liverpool), John Souttar (Rangers), Kieran Tierney (Celtic)

Midfielders:

Ryan Christie (Bournemouth), Findlay Curtis (Kilmarnock), Lewis Ferguson (Bologna), Ben Gannon-Doak (Bournemouth), Billy Gilmour (Napoli), John McGinn (Aston Villa), Kenny McLean (Norwich City), Scott McTominay (Napoli)

Forwards:

Ross Stewart (Southampton), Lawrence Shankland (Hearts), Che Adams (Torino), Lyndon Dykes (Charlton), George Hurst (Ipswich Town)