First World Cup withdrawal confirmed: Billy Gilmour out for Scotland | OneFootball

The midfielder twisted his right knee and will not recover in time for the World Cup. He has already left the training camp to begin treatment in Italy.

His name was on his national team’s final squad list, and he was eager to perform well in the United States, but an injury completely changed his plans. This Sunday, the first official withdrawal from the 2026 World Cup was confirmed. It is Billy Gilmour, one of Scotland’s key players, who was ruled out due to a serious problem in his right knee.

Just days before the start of the World Cup, the Tartan Army played a friendly against Curaçao in Glasgow that, beyond the 4-1 thrashing that filled them with confidence, came with a downside. Shortly before halftime, the Napoli midfielder had to leave the pitch urgently.

The play that caused the injury went almost unnoticed during the warm-up clash. The former Chelsea player went down after completing an unchallenged pass and walked off with a slight limp, a sign that sparked some optimism. However, the MRI scan he underwent hours later confirmed the worst-case scenario: there is ligament damage, and the recovery timeline is incompatible with playing in the biggest tournament of all.

The Scottish Football Association made the news official in a statement: “We regret to announce that the knee injury suffered by Billy Gilmour in today’s win over Curaçao will prevent him from taking part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Everyone involved with the Scotland men’s national team wishes Billy a speedy recovery. He will now return to his club, SSC Napoli, to begin his rehabilitation.”

Gilmour’s absence is a hugely significant loss for the British side, which will play in a World Cup again after 28 years. The 24-year-old midfielder, who went viral in Argentina weeks ago for having a statue of Diego Armando Maradona in the yard of his home in Italy, played a decisive role in ball circulation and was one of the main partners of John McGinn and Scott McTominay in central midfield.

His coach, Steve Clarke, publicly expressed his sadness over losing one of his trusted players: “I’m devastated for Billy because he has been a fundamental part of our World Cup qualifying campaign. The timing of this injury is very, very cruel, and we all feel for him”. He also added that Gilmour “knows what we all think of him as a footballer and as a person” and that “he will have many major tournaments ahead of him in the future.”

To replace him, the Scotland national team called up Tyler Fletcher, the 19-year-old Manchester United Under-21 player and son of Scotland legend Darren Fletcher, who had already come on against Curaçao in place of the injured midfielder and will take his spot on the final squad list, subject to FIFA approval.

The withdrawal adds to other major absences confirmed before the tournament, such as Rodrygo and Éder Militão (Brazil), Fermín López (Spain), and Hugo Ekitiké (France). Scotland will make its debut on June 13 against Haiti and will then complete its Group C campaign against Morocco and the Seleção.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.