"After 28 long summers, the world will finally hear your voice again." Ewan McGregor delivered that line in Scotland's squad reveal for the 2026 World Cup, and it lands harder than most football content has any right to.
Scotland are back. Their last World Cup was France '98, the end of a run that had seen them qualify for six of the previous seven tournaments. What followed was nearly three decades of near-misses, heartbreaks, and playoff exits. This qualification, for a tournament being partly hosted in the United States — where an estimated five to 25 million people claim Scottish ancestry — feels like something more than just a football story.
The squad Steve Clarke has picked
Andy Robertson leads from the back, as he has done for years. Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour — both of Napoli — form the engine of a midfield that actually has quality depth now, with John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson, and Ryan Christie providing real options. Up front, Lawrence Shankland gets his shot at the biggest stage after years of prolific domestic form, with Ché Adams and Lyndon Dykes offering different physical profiles in support.
- Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon (Hearts), Angus Gunn (Nottingham Forest), Liam Kelly (Rangers)
- Defenders: Grant Hanley (Hibernian), Jack Hendry (Al Ettifaq), Aaron Hickey (Brentford), Dom Hyam (Wrexham), Scott McKenna (Dinamo Zagreb), Nathan Patterson (Everton), Anthony Ralston (Celtic), Andy Robertson (Liverpool), John Souttar (Hearts), Kieran Tierney (Celtic)
- Midfielders: Ryan Christie (Bournemouth), Findlay Curtis (Rangers), Lewis Ferguson (Bologna), Ben Gannon-Doak (Bournemouth), Billy Gilmour (Napoli), John McGinn (Aston Villa), Kenny McLean (Norwich City), Scott McTominay (Napoli)
- Forwards: Ché Adams (Torino), Lyndon Dykes (Charlton), George Hirst (Ipswich Town), Lawrence Shankland (Hearts), Ross Stewart (Southampton)
Group C is not kind
The draw handed Scotland Brazil and Morocco. That's not a gentle re-introduction to the world stage. Their genuine lifeline is the expanded format — 32 of 48 teams advance — which means a win over Haiti in the opener and a respectable points tally could be enough. But Scotland have never reached a World Cup knockout round in eight attempts, eliminated on goal difference in 1974, 1978, and 1982 in three consecutive tournaments. The expanded format helps. History doesn't.
They play two group games in Boston and one in Miami. The Tartan Army will be there in numbers, between the thousands crossing the Atlantic and the millions already stateside with Scottish roots. Scotland's group stage odds will reflect that Brazil and Morocco clause, but this is a squad good enough to make the knockout rounds for the first time ever if results break right.
As McGregor put it: "That fierce, stubborn Scottish pride." Twenty-eight years in the making, and Group C is still going to make them earn it.
