Inside Scotland's World Cup squad 2026: Scott McTominay the star of Steve Clarke's roster, but injuries strike at bad time

Inside Scotland's World Cup squad 2026: Scott McTominay the star of Steve Clarke's roster, but injuries strike at bad time originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Scotland will play at a World Cup in 2026 for the first time in 28 years.

Steve Clarke's side secured qualification for the tournament in North America in dramatic fashion last November, beating Denmark 4-2 to leapfrog them in the standings and claim an automatic place in the group stage. The Tartan Army last played on the biggest stage at France '98. Steve Clarke was not involved in that tournament, but he will get his chance as coach this year to lead Scotland to the knockout phase of a major tournament for the very first time.

After seven years in charge, Clarke has a handful of favourites within the ranks, and several of the names on his final World Cup squad will come as little surprise. However, injuries and mixed recent form among some of the less concrete options made a few of his other choices more difficult to predict. Below is a run-down of Scotland's World Cup roster and where their strengths and weaknesses may lie.

2026 WORLD CUP HQ: Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Buy World Cup tickets Scotland World Cup squad 2026 Scotland announced their final World Cup roster on Tuesday, May 19. May 11 was the deadline to submit to FIFA an official preliminary list of 35-55 players, from which teams are required to name a final roster by Saturday, May 30. Caps and stats are correct as of May 19.