Steve Clarke has announced his March 2026 Scotland squad, his 1st since qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. Specifically using Opta and other metrics as per 17 March 2026 and continuing from part 1; this is part 2 of 4 of the analysis of that squad. This time we look at defenders.
Grant Hanley
| Age | 34 |
| Full caps | 66 |
| Club | Hibernian |
| Club’s division | Scottish 1st |
| Opta rating of club’s division | 74.0 |
| Opta global ranking of club’s division | 39th |
Hanley has missed Hibs’ last 6 games through injury. However, he was reported playing 45 mins as part of his comeback in a bounce game last week v Raith Rovers.
Jack Hendry
| Age | 30 |
| Full caps | 36 |
| Club | Al-Ettifaq |
| Club’s division | Saudi 1st |
| Opta rating of club’s division | 74.0 |
| Opta global ranking of club’s division | 40th |
In some ways for Hendry playing out of the focus of many people’s eye, it’s out of sight out of mind for him playing in Saudi. However, he remains a Steve Clarke squad regular. Hence Hendry’s inclusion is no surprise. He plays regularly for his club. However, his numbers in his last 8 games suggest he is a player not in his best form.
Dominic Hyam
| Age | 30 |
| Full caps | 1 |
| Club | Wrexham |
| Club’s division | English 2nd |
| Opta rating of club’s division | 79.8 |
| Opta global ranking of club’s division | 9th |
Hyam is long renowned for consistency and reliability. Furthermore, he has delivered on that again this season. Consequently, since his debut in September, Wrexham have springboarded their season from relegation fodder into promotion contenders. No Scottish centre-back currently performs at a higher level than Hyam. His recall to Steve Clarke’s squad was suggested in this detailed profile yesterday of Hyam on this website.
Ross McCrorie
| Age | 27 |
| Full caps | 1 |
| Club | Bristol City |
| Club’s division | English 2nd |
| Opta rating of club’s division | 79.8 |
| Opta global ranking of club’s division | 9th |
McCrorie was a 1st team regular until January, since when he has been in and out of the Bristol City squad. Known for his versatility and seen as a possible Scotland right back option, he has also played centre-back and defensive midfield. Flashscore though recently report McCrorie playing wide-left. McCrorie’s numbers from playing on the left, suggest that Clarke has chosen primarily McCrorie with another position(s) in mind.
Scott McKenna
| Age | 29 |
| Full caps | 48 |
| Club | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Club’s division | Croatian 1st |
| Opta rating of club’s division | 77.6 |
| Opta global ranking of club’s division | 15th |
The left-sided centre-back from Kirriemuir is currently having a ball playing for Dinamo Zagreb. Specifically, he is a regular 1st team starter there. Additionally, his performance metrics are good, in a division Opta rates considerably higher than the Scots top tier. He & Hyam are the in-form centre-backs.
Nathan Patterson
| Age | 24 |
| Full caps | 23 |
| Club | Everton |
| Club’s division | English 1st |
| Opta rating of club’s division | 90.7 |
| Opta global ranking of club’s division | 1st |
Patterson is 1 of many Scots internationalists who have not had to seek their injury problems. However, he has been available since December. Patterson though is largely unselected by Everton boss, Davie Moyes, who has explored other options instead to play at right-back. Consequently, Patterson hasn’t played 1st team football since January.
Tony Ralston
| Age | 27 |
| Full caps | 24 |
| Club | Celtic |
| Club’s division | Scottish 1st |
| Opta rating of club’s division | 74.0 |
| Opta global ranking of club’s division | 39th |
Tony Ralston has slipped to 3rd in the Celtic right-back pecking order behind not just Alistair Johnston but now also Julián Araujo (signed on loan to cover Johnston’s injury). Teenage Scot, Colby Donovan, is emerging to also contend. Contrastingly though, Ralston is appreciated by Steve Clarke in that with many of Ralston’s peers at right back prone to injury, Ralston is usually available to show up at Scotland camps. Since the beginning of February, Ralston has played twice for the Celtic 1st team, both times as a sub. While young Donovan seems more highly regarded by Martin O’Neill at Celtic, Donovan is as yet unselected for any squads by Steve Clarke.
Andy Robertson
| Age | 32 |
| Full caps | 90 |
| Club | Liverpool |
| Club’s division | English 1st |
| Opta rating of club’s division | 90.7 |
| Opta global ranking of club’s division | 1st |
Robertson has this season largely been deposed as Liverpool 1st choice left back by Milos Kerkez. However, Kerkez is yet to convince following his summer transfer from Bournemouth. Hence, Robertson has featured in 26 Liverpool league and cup games this season, many as sub. Robertson has delivered excellent performances in some of these games. In others he has been a less than convincing shadow of the world class left-back, whose electric form took him to 3 Champions League Finals in 5 years. However, given Robertson’s high energy playing style, potentially this reduced game time could be to his and Scotland’s benefit? Scotland would welcome a relatively fresh Andy Robertson available at the World Cup, rather than a player with end of season fatigue.
John Souttar
| Age | 29 |
| Full caps | 21 |
| Club | Rangers |
| Club’s division | Scottish 1st |
| Opta rating of club’s division | 74.0 |
| Opta global ranking of club’s division | 39th |
The soapy one is another who hasn’t had to seek injury woes in his career. However, other than for a couple of games, he has been available since late December. Flashscore rate him at 7.0 or better in his 1st 10 games since then. Further though, since the Ibrox 2-2 Old Firm draw on March 1st, he has started the last 2 games on the bench.
Kieran Tierney
| Age | 28 |
| Full caps | 53 |
| Club | Celtic |
| Club’s division | Scottish 1st |
| Opta rating of club’s division | 74.0 |
| Opta global ranking of club’s division | 39th |
This is Tierney’s 1st season back at Celtic, after his 6 seasons at Arsenal. Prior to returning to Celtic, he wasn’t any kind of 1st team regular since his 2023/24 loan to Real Sociedad. However, accruing more 1st team mileage in his legs as this season has progressed, he increasingly looks more like the left-back who many opine was as good as Andy Robertson when both were at their peak. Tierney has subbed off in each of the last 8 Celtic games he has started, despite his impressive numbers (8.1 or higher in 4 of his last 8 Flashscore rated games). Kudos to Celtic sensibly managing Tierney’s injury propensity?
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