Scotland national football team records and statistics

Last updated March 28, 2024

This page details Scotland national football team records and statistics; the most capped players, the players with the most goals, and Scotland's match record by opponent and decade.

Player records

Most capped players

As of Scotland v Northern Ireland, 26 March 2024^[1]

Players in bold are still active with Scotland.

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Scotland career	Clubs^{[note 1]}
1	Kenny Dalglish	102	30	1971–1986	Celtic, Liverpool
2	Jim Leighton	91	0	1982–1998	Aberdeen, Manchester United, Hibernian
3	Darren Fletcher	80	5	2003–2017	Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City
4	Alex McLeish	77	0	1980–1993	Aberdeen
5	Paul McStay	76	9	1983–1997	Celtic
6	Craig Gordon	74	0	2004–present	Heart of Midlothian, Sunderland, Celtic
7	Tom Boyd	72	1	1990–2001	Motherwell, Chelsea, Celtic
8	Kenny Miller	69	18	2001–2013	Rangers, Wolves, Celtic, Derby County, Bursaspor, Cardiff City, Vancouver Whitecaps
	Andrew Robertson		3	2014–present	Dundee United, Hull City, Liverpool
	David Weir		1	1997–2010	Heart of Midlothian, Everton, Rangers

Top goalscorers

As of Scotland v Northern Ireland, 26 March 2024^[1]

Players in bold are still active with Scotland.

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Average	Scotland career
1	Denis Law (list)	30	55	0.545	1958–1974
1	Kenny Dalglish (list)	30	102	0.294	1971–1986
3	Hughie Gallacher ^[2]	24	20	1.2	1924–1935
4	Lawrie Reilly	22	38	0.579	1948–1957
5	Ally McCoist	19	61	0.311	1986–1998
6	John McGinn	18	64	0.281	2016–present
6	Kenny Miller	18	69	0.261	2001–2013
8	Robert Hamilton	15	11	1.364	1899–1911
8	James McFadden	15	48	0.313	2002–2010
10	Mo Johnston	14	38	0.368	1984–1991

Hat-tricks

Table

Wartime internationals, not regarded as official matches, are not included in the list.

Date	Player	Opponent	Ref
2 March 1878	John McDougall	England	^[3]
13 March 1880	George Ker	England	^[3]
12 March 1881	John Smith	England	^[4]
14 March 1885	Alex Higgins	Ireland	^[4]
23 March 1885	Joseph Lindsay	Wales	^[4]
20 March 1886	Charles Heggie	Ireland	^[4]
24 March 1888	William Dickson	Ireland	^[4]
9 March 1889	Willie Groves	Ireland	^[4]
22 March 1890	William Paul	Wales	^[4]
18 March 1893	John Barker	Wales	^[5]
18 March 1893	Jake Madden	Wales	^[5]
19 March 1898	James Gillespie	Wales	^[5]
18 March 1899	Robert Smyth McColl	Wales	^[5]
25 March 1899	Robert Smyth McColl	Ireland	^[5]
7 April 1900	Robert Smyth McColl	England	^[5]
23 February 1901	Sandy McMahon	Ireland	^[6]
23 February 1901	RC Hamilton	Ireland	^[6]
1 March 1902	RC Hamilton	Ireland	^[6]
14 March 1908	Jimmy Quinn	Ireland	^[6]
27 February 1926	Hughie Gallacher	Ireland	^[7]
27 February 1928	Alex Jackson	England	^[7]
27 October 1928	Hughie Gallacher	Wales	^[7]
23 February 1929	Hughie Gallacher	Ireland	^[7]
26 May 1929	Alec Cheyne	Norway	^[7]
26 May 1932	Neil Dewar	France	^[8]
1 October 1949	Henry Morris	Ireland	^[9]
1 November 1950	Billy Steel	Northern Ireland	^[9]
20 May 1951	George Hamilton	Belgium	^[10]
30 April 1952	Lawrie Reilly	United States	^[10]
8 May 1957	Jackie Mudie	Spain	^[11]
7 October 1961	Alex Scott	Northern Ireland	^[12]
7 November 1962	Denis Law	Northern Ireland	^[12]
4 June 1963	Denis Law	Norway	^[12]
7 November 1963	Denis Law	Norway	^[12]
13 June 1967	Joe Harper	Canada Olympic Team	^[13]^[14]
17 May 1969	Colin Stein	Cyprus	^[15]
29 March 2015	Steven Fletcher	Gibraltar	^[16]
11 October 2015	Steven Fletcher	Gibraltar	^[17]
4 September 2016	Robert Snodgrass	Malta	^[18]
20 November 2018	James Forrest	Israel	^[19]
12 October 2019	John McGinn	San Marino	^[20]

Team records

Head to head records

As of Scotland v Northern Ireland, 26 March 2024

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	WPCT
Albania	2	2	0	0	6	0	+6	100.00
Argentina	4	1	1	2	3	5	−2	25.00
Armenia	2	2	0	0	6	1	+5	100.00
Australia	8	6	1	1	11	4	+7	75.00
Austria	23	7	8	8	30	37	−7	30.43
Belarus	4	2	1	1	5	2	+3	50.00
Belgium	20	4	3	13	21	41	−20	20.00
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	2	0	0	3	1	+2	100.00
Brazil	10	0	2	8	3	16	−13	0.00
Bulgaria	6	3	3	0	10	4	+6	50.00
Canada	6	5	1	0	14	3	+11	83.33
Canada Olympic Team	1	1	0	0	7	2	+5	100.00
Chile	2	2	0	0	6	2	+4	100.00
Colombia	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	0.00
CIS	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100.00
Costa Rica	2	0	0	2	0	2	−2	0.00
Croatia	6	2	3	1	6	5	+1	33.33
Cyprus	9	9	0	0	30	6	+24	100.00
Czech Republic	10	4	1	5	11	14	−3	40.00
Czechoslovakia	10	5	1	4	18	16	+2	50.00
Denmark	18	11	0	7	22	14	+8	61.11
East Germany	6	2	1	3	6	4	+2	33.33
Ecuador	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Egypt	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	0.00
England	116	41	26	49	175	206	−31	35.34
Estonia	8	6	2	0	13	3	+10	75.00
Faroe Islands	11	9	2	0	31	6	+25	81.82
Finland	8	6	2	0	18	5	+13	75.00
France	17	8	0	9	16	27	−11	47.06
Georgia	6	3	1	2	7	6	+1	50.00
Germany	9	2	2	5	9	12	−3	22.22
Gibraltar	2	2	0	0	12	1	+11	100.00
Greece	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	50.00
Hong Kong League XI	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	100.00
Hungary	9	3	2	4	14	18	−4	33.33
Iceland	6	6	0	0	12	3	+9	100.00
Iran	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0.00
Ireland	55	43	6	6	185	47	+138	78.18
Israel	11	6	3	2	16	11	+5	54.55
Italy	11	1	2	8	4	19	−15	9.09
Japan	3	0	2	1	0	2	−2	0.00
Kazakhstan	2	1	0	1	3	4	−1	50.00
Latvia	4	4	0	0	7	1	+6	100.00
Liechtenstein	2	2	0	0	3	1	+2	100.00
Lithuania	10	6	3	1	14	4	+10	60.00
Luxembourg	5	4	1	0	12	1	+11	80.00
Malta	7	6	1	0	18	5	+13	85.71
Mexico	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	0.00
Moldova	4	3	1	0	6	1	+5	75.00
Morocco	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	0.00
Netherlands	21	6	5	10	17	32	−15	28.57
New Zealand	2	1	1	0	6	3	+3	50.00
Nigeria	2	0	1	1	3	4	−1	0.00
North Macedonia	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2	50.00
Northern Ireland	41	20	11	10	73	35	+38	48.78
Norway	20	10	7	3	39	25	+14	50.00
Paraguay	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	0.00
Peru	4	1	1	2	4	6	−2	25.00
Poland	11	2	6	3	14	15	−1	18.18
Portugal	15	4	3	8	14	21	−7	26.67
Qatar	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Republic of Ireland	13	5	3	5	14	13	+1	38.46
Romania	6	2	2	2	8	6	+2	33.33
Russia	4	0	2	2	2	7	−5	0.00
San Marino	8	8	0	0	27	0	+27	100.00
Saudi Arabia	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	0.00
Serbia	3	0	2	1	1	3	−2	0.00
Slovakia	4	2	0	2	2	4	−2	50.00
Slovenia	5	2	3	0	7	3	+4	40.00
South Africa	2	1	0	1	1	2	−1	50.00
South Korea	1	0	0	1	1	4	−3	0.00
Soviet Union	4	0	1	3	2	6	−4	0.00
Spain	15	4	4	7	22	25	−3	26.67
Sweden	12	5	1	6	14	19	−5	41.67
Switzerland	16	8	3	5	26	24	+2	50.00
Trinidad and Tobago	1	1	0	0	4	1	+3	100.00
Turkey	2	0	0	2	3	6	−3	0.00
Ukraine	5	2	1	2	7	6	+1	40.00
United States	7	2	3	2	10	8	+2	28.57
Uruguay	4	1	1	2	4	10	−6	25.00
Wales	107	61	23	23	243	124	+119	57.01
West Germany	8	2	3	3	14	14	0	25.00
Yugoslavia	8	2	5	1	16	11	+5	25.00
Zaire	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Total	828	392	179	257	1417	1020	+397	47.34

Source: Results

Statistics include official FIFA recognised matches, five matches from a 1967 overseas tour that were reclassified as full internationals in 2021,^[13] and a match against a Hong Kong League XI played on 23 May 2002 that the Scottish Football Association includes in its statistical totals.^[21]^[22]

By period

As of Scotland v Northern Ireland, 26 March 2024

Period	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W%
1872–1914	113	71	23	19	341	137	+204	062.83
1920–1939	75	46	12	17	160	95	+65	061.33
1940–1959	86	39	19	28	162	130	+32	045.35
1960–1979	158	70	33	55	266	217	+49	044.30
1980–1999	179	76	46	57	213	167	+46	042.46
2000–2019	172	70	34	68	213	222	−9	040.70
2020–present	45	20	12	13	62	52	+10	044.44
Totals	828	392	179	257	1,417	1,020	+397	047.34

Statistics include official FIFA recognised matches, five matches from a 1967 overseas tour that were reclassified as full internationals in 2021,^[13] and a match against a Hong Kong League XI played on 23 May 2002 that the Scottish Football Association includes in its statistical totals.^[21]^[22]

Notes

↑ Only clubs played for while receiving caps are listed.

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References

1 2 Mamrud, Roberto. "Scotland - Record International Players". RSSSF.
↑ Hughie Gallacher Goals For Scotland
1 2 "Scotland – International Matches 1872–1880 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 9 April 2011.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Scotland – International Matches 1881–1890 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 9 April 2011.
1 2 3 4 5 6 "Scotland – International Matches 1891–1900 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 9 April 2011.
1 2 3 4 "Scotland – International Matches 1901–1910 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.
1 2 3 4 5 "Scotland – International Matches 1921–1930 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.
↑ "Scotland – International Matches 1931–1939 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.
1 2 "Scotland – International Matches 1946–1950 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.
1 2 "Scotland – International Matches 1951–1955 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.
↑ "Scotland – International Matches 1956–1960 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.
1 2 3 4 "Scotland – International Matches 1961–1965 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.
1 2 3 "Former Scotland players to be recognised with international caps including Sir Alex Ferguson". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
↑ "Scotland Unofficial Matches 1964-1967". RSSSF . 23 July 2020.
↑ "Scotland – International Matches 1966–1970 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.
↑ "Scotland 6–1 Gibraltar". BBC Sport. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
↑ "Gibraltar 0–6 Scotland". BBC Sport. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
↑ "Malta 1–5 Scotland". BBC Sport. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
↑ Lamont, Alasdair (20 November 2018). "Scotland 3–2 Israel". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
↑ Lamont, Alasdair (13 October 2019). "Scotland 6–0 San Marino". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
1 2 "HONG KONG v SCOTLAND". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
1 2 "Gordon Strachan". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 19 September 2013.

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[2] Only clubs played for while receiving caps are listed.

[RSSSF-1] 1 2 Mamrud, Roberto. "Scotland - Record International Players". RSSSF.

[hgqos-3] Hughie Gallacher Goals For Scotland

[scotland18721880-4] 1 2 "Scotland – International Matches 1872–1880 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 9 April 2011.

[scotland18811890-5] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Scotland – International Matches 1881–1890 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 9 April 2011.

[scotland18911900-6] 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Scotland – International Matches 1891–1900 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 9 April 2011.

[scotland1901-7] 1 2 3 4 "Scotland – International Matches 1901–1910 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[scotland1921-8] 1 2 3 4 5 "Scotland – International Matches 1921–1930 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[scotland1931-9] "Scotland – International Matches 1931–1939 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[scotland1950-10] 1 2 "Scotland – International Matches 1946–1950 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[scotland1955-11] 1 2 "Scotland – International Matches 1951–1955 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[scotland1956-12] "Scotland – International Matches 1956–1960 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[scotland1965-13] 1 2 3 4 "Scotland – International Matches 1961–1965 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[1967_reclassified-14] 1 2 3 "Former Scotland players to be recognised with international caps including Sir Alex Ferguson". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.

[15] "Scotland Unofficial Matches 1964-1967". RSSSF . 23 July 2020.

[scotland1970-16] "Scotland – International Matches 1966–1970 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[17] "Scotland 6–1 Gibraltar". BBC Sport. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.

[18] "Gibraltar 0–6 Scotland". BBC Sport. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.

[19] "Malta 1–5 Scotland". BBC Sport. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.

[20] Lamont, Alasdair (20 November 2018). "Scotland 3–2 Israel". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 November 2018.

[21] Lamont, Alasdair (13 October 2019). "Scotland 6–0 San Marino". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 October 2019.

[hong_kong-22] 1 2 "HONG KONG v SCOTLAND". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 19 September 2013.

[strachan-23] 1 2 "Gordon Strachan". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 19 September 2013.

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