The Scotland World Cup 2026 campaign is over, as is the reign of Steve Clarke. Some players have likely played their last game for the Scotland Men’s National Team (SMNT). However, which players seem like options that the soon-to-be-appointed new boss could call-up? Following our look at potential Scotland centre back call-ups, we next look at possible Scotland midfielders for call-up.
Scotland midfielders in the World Cup squad
Before the main part of the article, this is a brief summary of Scotland midfielders who went to the World Cup. Stats are as at 14 July 2026.
Ryan Christie
The 31-year-old from Inverness is now on 71 SMNT caps. However, he didn’t show his best form at the World Cup in his unconvincing displays. If he continues to play even semi-regularly for Bournemouth in the EPL, that will keep him in sight of whoever the incoming boss is.
Lewis Ferguson
Hardworking Ferguson was not just the best at the World Cup of the Scotland midfielders; he was Scotland’s best player overall, both at World Cup 2026 & in qualifying. Also, at different times he has been linked with moves from Bologna to Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Napoli & Roma all in Italy, as well as Rangers, clubs in England & Real Betis in Spain.
26-year-old Ferguson is now on 27 SMNT caps. It would be jaw-dropping if Ferguson was omitted from the September squad for reasons other than e.g., injury or compassionate grounds.
Tyler Fletcher
19-year-old Fletcher was a late call-up to the World Cup squad, after impressing when he replaced injured Billy Gilmour in the warm-up win against Curaçao. Likely part of the reason Steve Clarke selected Fletcher, was that playing as little as one second of football at a World Cup, ties a player for life to playing only for that country.
Fletcher though didn’t play any match time at the World Cup, with the Scots hanging on for victory in what seemed the likeliest game for Fletcher to sub on; namely the 1-0 win against Haiti. Thus ahead of playing at Euro 2028 (should Scotland qualify), Fletcher would need to play in 4 games of which at least one must be competitive, to tie him to Scotland.
It thus remains to be seen how much value the incoming Scotland boss places on Fletcher. There’s plenty of other candidates for the squad. For all of Fletcher’s talents, he currently has only played in 4 senior first team games at both club & international level.
John McGinn
Like Christie, McGinn didn’t have a great World Cup. McGinn though against Haiti, wrote himself into the history books. Specifically, he scored Scotland’s first World Cup goal since 1998, and scored in Scotland’s first World Cup win since Italia 90.
31-year-old McGinn is still young enough for the Euro 2028 qualifying campaign. Like Ferguson, it would be a major shock if 89-cap McGinn was omitted from the September squad for anything other than injury or compassionate grounds. Talk of a Summer move of Aston Villa’s Europa League winning captain to Everton seems unrealistic. But in the world of football, who knows?
Kenny McLean
60-cap McLean’s squad place may well be under threat. There seems no deterioration in his game, going by his numbers and yet another Player of the Season award at Norwich City last season. He was also one of Scotland’s better performers in the Morocco game. A new boss though may feel 34-year-old McLean should be sacrificed in September, in terms of looking to refresh the squad with some younger players.
Scott McTominay
Whatever else may be said about Scotland at World Cup 2026, the outcome wasn’t through lack of effort by either Lewis Ferguson or 29-year-old McTominay. McTominay is now on 73 SMNT caps. Like Ferguson & McGinn, McTominay is another contender to be next SMNT captain. It is unthinkable that McTominay won’t be selected in November for anything other than the likes of injury.
McTominay has been linked with a reunion with his former Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho. Indications are though McTominay will extend his Napoli contract rather than join Mourinho at Real Madrid.
Additional Scotland midfielders to call-up?
Connor Barron
| Age | 23 |
| Full Scotland caps | 1 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 29 |
| Year of last full cap | 2025 (away v Liechtenstein) |
| Current club | Rangers |
| Current club division | Scots 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 75.3 (43rd globally) |
The first of the Scotland midfielders looking to force their way into the squad, is Connor Barron. 23-year-old Barron’s non-selection among World Cup Scotland midfielders didn’t raise many eyebrows. He did OK though last season for Rangers, earning a solid Fotmob rating of 6.99 in the 27 league games in which he played.
Barron has been linked with summer moves to various clubs who play at a higher level than the Scots top flight. Namely Bologna, Eintracht Frankfurt & West Ham United. Establishing regular first team football at any of those clubs would enhance Barron’s reputation. It remains to be seen though if that happens.
Billy Gilmour
| Age | 25 |
| Full Scotland caps | 46 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 31 |
| Year of last full cap | 2026 (home v Curaçao) |
| Current club | Napoli |
| Current club division | Italian 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 86.1 (2nd globally) |
Of the Scotland midfielders in this list who didn’t go to the World Cup, Billy Gilmour has easily the most international experience. Gilmour’s ability to receive passes from defence in tight areas was badly missed at World Cup 2026. As yet there doesn’t appear a published return date for the injury he picked up against Curaçao in June. Of additional concern, that is the 2nd long term injury he picked up last season. Specifically, he was out of action for 106 days due to a groin injury from November until May.
Jordan Holsgrove
| Age | 26 |
| Full Scotland caps | 0 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 18 |
| Year of last full cap | N/A |
| Current club | Estoril |
| Current club division | Portuguese 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 81.2 (10th globally) |
Holsgrove’s father, Paul, was on the books at Hibernian for a season & a half from Summer 1998. It was during that spell that Jordan was conceived & subsequently born in Edinburgh. Near the end of Holsgrove senior’s time at Hibs, he had a month long loan to Airdrie.
Jordan Holsgrove has had a somewhat exotic career. Specifically, at different times since leaving Reading, he has been signed to clubs in Spain, Greece, & most prominently in Portugal.
Holsgrove & Ian Cathro managed Estoril finished 10th last season after at one point being considered in outside contention for a European spot. Holsgrove, a left-footed, technical player dictating play from deep-lying midfield, is a key man for them. Fotmob rate his league performances last season at an impressive 7.19. He was Portugal’s player of the week in game week 11. Specifically, Holsgrove scored once and helped create 3 goals for his team mates in an entertaining 4-3 win against Arouca.
Holsgrove transfer interest
Previous transfer interest has linked him with Hearts, Rangers, and his dad’s ex-club, Hibs. He has also previously been reported as interesting Hamburg. Ex-Hearts boss, Ian Cathro, departed Estoril this Summer for Saint-Étienne in the French 2nd tier. French media promptly speculated Holsgrove could follow. For example, this is from butfootballclub.fr
“The 26-year-old midfielder has taken on an important dimension at Estoril over the past two seasons. With 76 league matches, 4 goals and 16 assists over the period, he has established himself as one of Cathro’s trusted men. Also valued at around 5 million euros, the Scot presents a complete profile capable of providing balance and quality of recovery.”
Opta currently rate France’s 2nd tier at 76.1. That is 33rd globally and a significant drop down from the level Holsgrove currently plays at. As a benchmark, the Scots top tier is ranked at 75.3 (43rd globally).
Marc Leonard
| Age | 24 |
| Full Scotland caps | 0 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 21 |
| Year of last full cap | N/A |
| Current club | Birmingham City |
| Current club division | English 2nd tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 81.9 (7th globally) |
Marc Leonard impressed sufficiently last season on loan at Hearts, to merit suggestion as a possible World Cup call-up. A late season Achilles rupture though, put paid to that idea. Leonard is expected to be out of action until January.
Jack McGrath
| Age | 17 |
| Full Scotland caps | 0 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 5 |
| Year of last full cap | N/A |
| Current club | Aston Villa |
| Current club division | English 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 91.6 (1st globally) |
Fitba.scot opined that Steve Clarke should take an elite-potential youngster in the squad to the World Cup, to tie that youngster to Scotland. Specifically we advocated that youngster should be Jack McGrath. Ultimately though, Tyler Fletcher went instead (see above), although Fletcher didn’t play any game time at World Cup 2026.
McGrath’s ability to glide past opponents, slice open defences with precision passes & also score goals from MF, is exactly what the impotent Scots attack needed at the World Cup. Acknowledging he is 17 years old and yet to play senior first team football, it is unjustifiably optimistic suggesting at this stage that he is ready to start SMNT games. Could he though, feature from the bench?
Having McGrath among the Scotland midfielders would be a huge boost to the attack. Multi-eligibility players under 21 years old are required to play 4 competitive games for one country, to tie them to that country. Coincidentally, the next international break covers 4 games:
- September 26: Slovenia v Scotland
- September 29: Scotland v Switzerland
- October 3: North Macedonia v Scotland
- October 6: Scotland v Slovenia
For completeness, the 2 additional 2026 Scotland Nations League fixtures are:
- November 13: Scotland v North Macedonia
- November 16: Switzerland v Scotland
Lennon Miller
| Age | 19 |
| Full Scotland caps | 4 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 32 |
| Year of last full cap | 2025 (home v Belarus) |
| Current club | Udinese |
| Current club division | Italian 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 81.9 (7th globally) |
Miller’s omission was the most surprising not just from the Scotland midfielders but from the entire Scotland World Cup squad.
He had a solid if unspectacular debut season just ended in Serie A, with the management team there sensibly & carefully managing his minutes as he learns to adapt to the elevated standard there.
His increased market value from €8m to €10m is testament to the increased potential with which he is viewed. That €10m is currently 4th highest of any player at Udinese and 8th highest of any Scotsman.
Josh Mulligan
| Age | 23 |
| Full Scotland caps | 0 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 15 |
| Year of last full cap | N/A |
| Current club | Hibernian |
| Current club division | Scots 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 75.3 (43rd globally) |
Of the former Dundee midfield trinity of Lyall Cameron, Luke McGowan and Josh Mulligan, it is Mulligan who has impressed most since moving on. Mulligan looked completely at home last season in the Hibs engine room.
Despite a January ankle injury ruling him out for all but the last 2 games of the season, Mulligan remains heavily linked with transfer activity. Specifically, interest has been reported from both halves of the Old Firm, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Southampton, West Ham, Wolves & German top tier club, Schalke.
Elliot Watt
| Age | 26 |
| Full Scotland caps | 0 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 28 |
| Year of last full cap | N/A |
| Current club | Motherwell |
| Current club division | Scots 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 75.3 (43rd globally) |
Watt is one of many to have prospered greatly under Jens Berthel Askou at Motherwell last season, earning selection for PFA Scotland Team of the Season. Also, he was among many from Hearts & Motherwell in that Team of the Season, snubbed by Steve Clarke in his international selection. Does a change of Scotland boss signal a change in international selection for Watt?
Watt is yet another swirling in transfer reports. He has been linked in this transfer window alone with both sides of the Old Firm & also a move to Samsunspor in the Turkish Super Lig.
Which Scotland midfielders are likeliest to be called up?
The 2 likeliest Scotland midfielders to miss out in September, who went to the World Cup are McLean (age) & Fletcher (inexperience). If Gilmour returns to full fitness in time, he seems a stick-on for recall. However, Gilmour’s recall is also massively in doubt until a comeback date from his current injury is published.
Hence, there seems very much to be spaces up for grabs. Lennon Miller will justifiably see himself at the front of those knocking at the selection door. Holsgrove seems a natural replacement for McLean, given both are left-footed & play the same position. As with the reviews we’ve done of GKs, FBs & CBs for September selection, a tremendous amount depends on who the next boss is. And also, on who is playing reasonably regularly and the level they are playing at.
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Amendment.
Ryan Gauld on 8 July 2026 made what appears a successful return from a 16 month injury. Specifically he played for Vancouver Whitecaps in the Canadian Championship quarterfinal v Cavalry FC. Gauld was omitted from the above article in error. Gauld is subsequently covered in this article.
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