Global InformationScotland national football team information
 | |||
| Nickname(s) | The Tartan Army | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Scottish Football Association | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Steve Clarke | ||
| Captain | Andrew Robertson | ||
| Most caps | Kenny Dalglish (102) | ||
| Top scorer | Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law (30) | ||
| Home stadium | Hampden Park | ||
| FIFA code | SCO | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 39  5 (4 April 2024)[1] | ||
| Highest | 13[2] (October 2007) | ||
| Lowest | 88[3] (March 2005) | ||
| First international | |||
 Scotland 0–0 England  (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) (The first ever international football match) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Scotland 11–0 Ireland  (Glasgow, Scotland; 23 February 1901) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Uruguay 7–0 Scotland (Basel, Switzerland; 19 June 1954) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 8 (first in 1954) | ||
| Best result | Group stage (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998) | ||
| European Championship | |||
| Appearances | 4 (first in 1992) | ||
| Best result | Group stage (1992, 1996, 2020) | ||
| Website | scottishfa.co.uk | ||
The Scotland men's national football team[note 1] represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in three major professional tournaments: the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Nations League and the UEFA European Championship. Scotland, as a country of the United Kingdom, is not a member of the International Olympic Committee, and therefore the national team does not compete in the Olympic Games. The majority of Scotland's home matches are played at the national stadium, Hampden Park.
Scotland is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872. Scotland has a long-standing rivalry with England,[5] whom they played annually from 1872 until 1989. The teams have met only nine times since then, most recently in a friendly in September 2023.
Scotland have qualified for the FIFA World Cup on eight occasions, and the UEFA European Championship four times, but have never progressed beyond the first group stage of a finals tournament.[6] The team have achieved some noteworthy results, such as beating the 1966 FIFA World Cup winners England 3–2 at Wembley Stadium in 1967. Archie Gemmill scored what has been described as one of the greatest World Cup goals ever in a 3–2 win during the 1978 World Cup against the Netherlands, who reached the final of the tournament.[7] In their qualifying group for UEFA Euro 2008, Scotland defeated 2006 World Cup runners-up France 1–0 in both fixtures.
Scotland supporters are collectively known as the Tartan Army. The Scottish Football Association operates a roll of honour for every player who has made more than 50 appearances for Scotland.[8] Kenny Dalglish holds the record for Scotland appearances, having played 102 times between 1971 and 1986.[8] Dalglish scored 30 goals for Scotland and shares the record for most goals scored with Denis Law.
- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ "Scots close in on England ranking". BBC Sport. 24 October 2007. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ "Wales fall in Fifa world rankings". BBC Sport. 24 March 2005. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2007.
- ^ a b c Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "A history of fierce football rivalry". BBC. 13 October 1999. Archived from the original on 15 September 2007. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
- ^ "Modric magic ensures Croatia prolong Scotland's tournament woes". ESPN.com. 22 June 2021. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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