Scotland national football team
The
Scotland national football team have played international
football longer than any other nation in the world along with
England, whom they competed against in the world's first international football match at the
West of Scotland Cricket Club,
Partick, in 1872. The match ended 0-0.
[[1], Match report]One of Scotland's most famous results occurred in 1967, when they defeated the then
FIFA World Cup holders England 3-2 at
Wembley Stadium. Some fans jovially claimed that this victory made Scotland the
Unofficial World Champions.
In recent years, the Scottish team have become famous for their travelling support, known as the
Tartan Army, who have won numerous awards from
UEFA for their combination of rabid support and friendly nature.
[[2] , SFA website, Tartan Army Exhibition] The Tartan Army and the
roligans of
Denmark are often considered amongst the world's best national team fans.
On May 13th 2006, Scotland won the
Kirin Cup after beating
Bulgaria 5-1 (with 2 goals each for
Kris Boyd and
Chris Burke on their debuts) and drawing 0-0 with
Japan.
[[3], BBC Sport, 2006-13-05]Traditionally England have been Scotland's fiercest rivals.
Scotland normally play their home matches at
Hampden Park (capacity 52,000) in
Glasgow. Some matches, particularly friendlies, are occasionally played elsewhere, often at
Hibernian's
Easter Road ground and
Aberdeen's
Pittodrie Stadium. Scotland are one of the few UEFA members who play most of their matches in a city (Glasgow) other than the capital (
Edinburgh).
There have been a few instances where FIFA World Cup qualifying matches have been played outwith Hampden.
Celtic Park and
Ibrox Stadium both hosted matches in the
1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, while Hampden was unavailable due to the construction of the South Stand. Scotland will also play the
Faroe Islands in their first
Euro 2008 qualifier at Celtic Park, due to Hampden being hired out for a
Robbie Williams concert on that date.
Scotland have qualified for eight World Cups â€" including 5 consecutive tournaments from 1974 to 1990 â€" but have never progressed past the first round of the finals competition. They have missed out on progressing to the second round three times on goal difference â€" in
1974, when
Brazil edged them out, in
1978 when the
Netherlands progressed and in
1982 when the
USSR went through.
|Year| Result | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals Scored | Goals Against |
|1930| Did not enter | | | | | |
|1934| Did not enter | | | | | |
|1938| Did not enter | | | | | |
|1950Withdrew [Scotland qualified for the tournament but later withdrew as they were not British Champions] | | | | | |
|1954| Round 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
|1958| Round 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
|1962| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|1966| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|1970| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|1974| Round 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
|1978| Round 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
|1982| Round 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 |
|1986| Round 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
|1990| Round 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
|1994| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|1998| Round 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
|2002| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|2006| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|Total | 23 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 25 | 41 |
Scotland have qualified for two
European Championships but have failed to advance beyond the first round on both occasions, most recently at
Euro 1996, where the Netherlands progressed on goal difference. Qualification for
Euro 2008 is due to commence later in 2006. Although Scotland's form has improved of late, expectation is low after being drawn in the so called
group of death.
[[4], BBC Sport, 2006-25-01]|Year| Result | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals Scored | Goals Against |
|1960| Did not enter | | | | | |
|1964| Did not enter | | | | | |
|1968| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|1972| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|1976| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|1980| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|1984| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|1988| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|1992| Round 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
|1996| Round 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|2000| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|2004| Did not qualify | | | | | |
|Total | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Goalkeepers
Defenders
| Name | Date of Birth | Club | Caps | Goals | Debut |
|---|
| Steven Pressley | 11.10.73 | Heart of Midlothian | 28 | 0 | v France, 29 March 2000 |
| Gary Caldwell | 05.03.85 | Celtic | 20 | 1 | v France, 27 March 2002 |
| Andy Webster | 23.04.82 | Heart of Midlothian | 22 | 1 | v Austria, 30 April 2000 |
| David Weir | 10.05.70 | | 48 | 1 | v Wales, 27 May 1997 |
| Jackie McNamara | 24.10.73 | | 30 | 0 | v Latvia, 5 October 1996 |
| Gary Naysmith | 16.11.78 | | 30 | 1 | v Republic of Ireland, 30 May 2000 |
| Russell Anderson | 25.10.78 | | 9 | 0 | v Iceland, 12 October 2002 |
| Steven Caldwell | 12.09.80 | | 9 | 0 | v Poland, 25 April 2001 |
| Graham Alexander | 10.10.71 | | 23 | 0 | v Nigeria, 17 April 2002 |
| Graeme Murty | 13.11.74 | | 3 | 0 | v Wales, 18 February 2004 |
| David McNamee | 10.10.80 | | 4 | 0 | v Estonia, 27 May 2004 |
| Christian Dailly | 23.10.73 | | 61 | 5 | v Wales, 27 May 1997 |
Midfielders
| Name | Date of Birth | Club | Caps | Goals | Debut |
|---|
| Barry Ferguson | 02.02.78 | | 33 | 2 | v Lithuania, 5 September 1998 |
| Nigel Quashie | 20.07.78 | | 12 | 1 | v Estonia, 27 May 2004 |
| Paul Hartley | 10.03.78 | Heart of Midlothian | 7 | 1 | v Italy, 26 March 2005 |
| Darren Fletcher | 01.02.84 | | 23 | 3 | v Norway, 20 August 2003 |
| Scott Brown | 25.06.85 | | 1 | 0 | v USA, 12 November 2005 |
| Lee McCulloch | 14.05.78 | | 7 | 2 | v Moldova, 13 October 2004 |
| Ian Murray | 20.03.81 | | 6 | 0 | v Canada, 15 October 2002 |
| Gary Teale | 21.07.78 | | 3 | 0 | v Switzerland, 1 March 2006 |
| Scott Severin | 15.02.79 | | 13 | 0 | v Latvia, 6 October 2001 |
| Chris Burke | 02.12.83 | | 2 | 2 | v Bulgaria, 11 May 2006 |
| Gavin Rae | 28.11.77 | | 11 | 0 | v Poland, 25 April 2001 |
Forwards
From 1872 - 1954 the Scotland national team was appointed by an SFA selection committee.
* - Matt Busby was officially the Scotland Manager, but Trainer Dawson Walker was left in charge of the players due to the tragedy of the
Munich air disaster in February 1958, in which Busby was seriously injured.
** - Tommy Burns was manager on a caretaker basis following the departure of Berti Vogts.
Famous players
{|valign="top"|
*
Jim Baxter*
Billy Bremner¹
*
Bobby Collins*
John Collins¹
*
Kenny Dalglish¹
*
Barry Ferguson*
Hughie Gallacher*
Archie Gemmill*
Richard Gough¹
*
George Graham*
Eddie Gray*
John Greig*
Alan Hansen*
Asa Hartford¹
*
Colin Hendry¹
*
David Herd*
Alex James*
Mo Johnston*
Jimmy Johnstone |
*Joe Jordan¹
*Denis Law¹
*Paul Lambert
*Jim Leighton¹
*Gary McAllister¹
*Ally McCoist¹
*Danny McGrain¹
*Alex McLeish¹
*Billy McNeill
*Dave Mackay
*Lou Macari
*Willie Miller¹
*Alan Morton
*Graeme Souness¹
*Paul Sturrock
*Gordon Strachan¹
*Andrew Watson
*John White
*George Young¹ | 
