Scotland announce 26-man squad for first World Cup in 28 years

Scotland have confirmed their 26-man squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

Steve Clarke has named the squad he will take to North America for the upcoming World Cup at Hampden Park on Tuesday May 19.

Scotland will travel for their first World Cup campaign since 1998 after a dramatic qualifying campaign culminated in a famous 4-2 win against Denmark back in November.

Scotland’s campaign begins on June 14 against Haiti in Boston before facing Morocco on June 19. They end their group stage games against Brazil on June 24 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

It is Scotland’s first World Cup since France 1998, where they were drawn in a group alongside Brazil, Norway and Morocco — reuniting them with two of those same opponents 28 years on.

Before flying to North America, Scotland host Curacao at Hampden on May 30, before travelling to the USA for a pre-tournament camp in Fort Lauderdale and a final warm-up against Bolivia on June 6 in New Jersey.

The Scotland squad was announced on Tuesday morning, with Hull City striker Ollie McBurnie a notable absentee after scoring 17 goals in 37 games in the Championship and helping the Yorkshire outfit reach the Championship play-off final against Southampton

But it was Saints’ Ross Stewart who has been handed a surprise call-up four years after his last appearance, while Middlesbrough winger Tommy Conway was ruled out of the tournament due to injury.

Senior players Andy Robertson and John McGinn are both in, alongside talisman Scott McTominay after he fired Scotland to the World Cup finals.

Rangers youngster Findlay Curtis has earned a place but Lennon Miller and Kieron Bowie, who both play in Serie A with Udinese and Hellas Verona respectively, have been left out.

Scotland squad for World Cup in full:

Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon, Angus Gunn, Liam Kelly

Defenders: Grant Hanley, Jack Hendry, Aaron Hickey, Dom Hyam, Scott McKenna, Nathan Patterson, Anthony Ralston, Andy Robertson, John Souttar, Kieran Tierney

Midfielders: Ryan Christie, Findlay Curtis, Lewis Ferguson, Ben Gannon-Doak, Billy Gilmour, John McGinn, Kenny McLean, Scott McTominay

Forwards: Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes, George Hirst, Lawrence Shankland, Ross Stewart

Aged 43, goalkeeper Craig Gordon could become the second-oldest player to ever feature in a World Cup fixture. The record is held by Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary, who was 45 years and 161 days when he was in between the sticks against Saudi Arabia.

Source: Sport Bible
--Agencies