Southampton’s Ross Stewart and Rangers youngster Findlay Curtis have both been included in Scotland’s 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup while Steve Clarke has also called on Craig Gordon.
Gordon, 43, last played in January and has been struggling with a shoulder injury but he makes the squad as one of three goalkeepers. While this squad was expected to have few surprises, the notable inclusions are Stewart, who last played for Scotland in 2022, and teenager Curtis.
There are familiar names like Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, Kieran Tierney and John McGinn included but hopefuls like Oli McBurnie and Kieran Bowie miss out. Andy Robertson will captain the team.
Wrexham’s Dominic Hyam is also named, as is Aaron Hickey who missed Euro 2024. Curtis won his first two caps for Scotland in their March friendlies having impressed in his loan spell at Kilmarnock. With Middlesbrough’s Tommy Conway injured, Stewart is backed as one of five forwards in the team alongside Ché Adams, Lyndon Dykes, George Hirst and Lawrence Shankland.
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“We have shown that this is a group of players who understand how to qualify for major tournaments,” Clarke said. “I think on the back of that most will have been to two major tournaments. It’ll come to the fore in this one and hopefully they’ll do something the Scottish team has never done before.”
There was a school of thought that Clarke would take four goalkeepers with Gordon lacking fitness, but in the end he went with three. Gordon, 43, is clearly backed to recover from a shoulder injury, while Gunn also goes despite playing just 45 minutes for Nottingham Forest this season. Liam Kelly — who Rangers have used as their cup goalkeeper — completes the trio.
“It’s always difficult when you’ve got goalkeepers that are not playing regularly,” Clarke said. “As long as goalkeepers are working at maximum in training, you feel that they can come in and a number of games.
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“Craig’s slightly different in that he picked up an injury. We’ve got good reports back from Hearts. We sent [goalkeeper coach] Chris Woods up to watch their training and he’s training very well. Craig assures me that he’s fully fit. He deserves to go because he played a part in the qualifying campaign. He missed the last tournament, and he’s shown tremendous resilience to be in the squad and he deserves to be there.
“Angus — I think he played an Under-23 game down in England just to get some match practice. And Liam’s in there because he’s a very good goalkeeper. He’s good around the squad. His character’s good. Players respect him and he works ever so hard in camp, so that’s how I managed to come down on the three goalkeepers.”
Clarke added that he’ll take a younger goalkeeper to the World Cup as their 27th man to help with training. When asked whether taking Gordon was a risk, Clarke said: “Obviously we can change a goalkeeper at any time across the tournament. So if Craig was to struggle a little bit with injury — which hopefully he won’t and he’s certain that he won’t do that — we can always have the option to change him.”
In defence, Grant Hanley is named despite him injuring his knee at the weekend. Jack Hendry makes the cut, as does Wrexham’s Hyam. Hickey and Nathan Patterson missed out on Euro 2024 through injury but they have their shot this summer having been included despite having endured fitness issues. Rangers’ John Souttar also missed out on Euro 2024 after he was left out, but he’s included this time around. Tierney is also in the group, after he picked up an injury during Scotland’s Euros campaign last time out. There are 10 defenders named overall, with three of them right-backs.
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In midfield, McTominay and McGinn are the star names. Curtis, 19, is the late bolter after he made his Scotland debut in March, but his form on loan at Kilmarnock has seen him force his way in.
“Findlay was hopefully jumping around the living room, or wherever he is in the world,” Clarke said. “Impressions when I brought him in in March — he fitted in very well. He’s got something a little bit different to what we’ve got. He’s shown he can score a goal, he’s finished the season in a great place and it’s nice to have a young one in the squad.”
McTominay is joined by his Napoli teammate Gilmour. McGinn has a Europa League final to look forward to on Wednesday but he’ll be one of their key men at the World Cup this summer. Scotland will also look to Bournemouth‘s Ben Gannon-Doak to provide a threat from the flanks after he recovered from injury.
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And up front, the key question is who will start up front in Scotland’s opener against Haiti on June 13 (June 14 BST). With Conway injured, Clarke has named five strikers with Torino’s Adams, Charlton’s Dykes, Ipswich’s Hirst, Hearts’ Shankland and Southampton’s Stewart all hoping to get the nod. For those on the periphery, the likes of McBurnie, Andy Irving, Bowie, Lennon Miller and Oliver Burke all miss out.
“I think he’s a good story,” Clarke said of Stewart. “He was obviously in the squad a few years ago, showing that he could come up to this level. He’s had a terrible run of injury but he’s stepped up in the second half of the season. He’s shown that he can score big goals in big games — I probably reference the Arsenal game in the FA Cup but he’s shown he can have an impact on games at that level. The World Cup will be a high level. He’s a striker in form and I decided to add him to the group.”
Scotland start their World Cup campaign against Haiti in Boston, before facing Morocco on June 19 and finishing up with Brazil in Miami on June 24.
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Full Scotland squad for 2026 World Cup
Craig Gordon, Angus Gunn, Liam Kelly.
Grant Hanley, Jack Hendry, Aaron Hickey, Dom Hyam, Scott McKenna, Nathan Patterson, Anthony Ralston, Andy Robertson, John Souttar, Kieran Tierney.
Ryan Christie, Findlay Curtis, Lewis Ferguson, Ben Gannon-Doak, Billy Gilmour, John McGinn, Kenny McLean, Scott McTominay.
Ché Adams, Lyndon Dykes, George Hirst, Lawrence Shankland, Ross Stewart.
