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 goalkeeper call-ups, we next look at possible Scotland fullbacks for call-up.
Scotland fullbacks in the World Cup squad
Before the main part of the article, this is a brief summary of Scotland fullbacks who went to the World Cup.
Aaron Hickey
Hickey, as we have said before, is arguably the most talented of current Scotland fullbacks. Further, if he could stay fit, he would play Champions League football for a club in one of the big 5 divisions. That though seems unrealistic given his recurring injuries.
Nathan Patterson
Nathan Patterson did well leading up to & at the World Cup in that he actually played a good amount of minutes. His selection record at Everton suggests he is unlikely to play even semi-regular first team football as long as Davie Moyes stays in charge there. Patterson would thus benefit from a move. He would though likely be required to take a drop in wages. However, like Hickey, Patterson’s injury record doesn’t look good & is an obstacle to obtaining a premium transfer.
Anthony Ralston
Tony Ralston has been a willing trier for Steve Clarke. Further, Ralston did pretty well in the limited minutes he was given at the World Cup. His place in the squad though is likely under threat if a new boss is appointed who doesn’t feel loyalty to players selected in the past.
Andy Robertson
Andy Robertson is now 32 and no longer unsurpassed as a LB in Europe. Furthermore, the next name below should now take over as de-facto Scotland LB. Robertson though on 97 caps, has Kenny Dalglish’s 102 cap record firmly in his sights. Hence, Robertson will likely keep turning up, knowing he will get more caps.
Kieran Tierney
Has Kieran Tierney’s time as first-choice Scotland LB finally arrived? His injury record though suggests others will be able to accumulate caps.
Additional Scotland fullbacks to call-up?
Below are some likely & less likely possible call-ups to the squad should the incoming new boss seek to replace any of the above. Stats are as at 9 July 2026.
Josh Doig
| Age | 24 |
| Full Scotland caps | 1 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 11 |
| Year of last full cap | 2025 (away v Liechtenstein) |
| Current club | Sassuolo |
| Current club division | Italian 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 86.0 (2nd globally) |
Josh Doig is most prominent of the Scotland fullbacks pushing for selection. However, last season he was Fotmob rated an unconvincing 6.5 at Sassuolo. Hence, he has been linked with a Summer transfer to newly promoted Venezia.
He may have to wait longer to regularly displace Kieran Tierney or Andy Robertson at LB. His best chances of call up remain when Tierney or Robertson are injured. Even then, if Aaron Hickey can regain & retain fitness, 2-footed Hickey can play LB if needed to cover Tierney & Robertson if Patterson is fit & available to cover RB.
Doig started his career at CB, before being moved to LB when on loan at Queen’s Park. Should he return to CB, in a back 4 or as LCB in a back 5?
Colby Donovan
| Age | 19 |
| Full Scotland caps | 0 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 5 |
| Year of last full cap | N/A |
| Current club | Celtic |
| Current club division | Scots 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 75.3 (43rd globally) |
Alistair Johnston was first choice RB at Celtic last season. Donovan, however, played 1,484 of first team minutes after Johnston picked up a long term injury. However, Celtic signed Julián Araujo on-loan in the January transfer window to cover Johnston’s injury. Hence both Donovan & Tony Ralston dropped down the pecking order.
Some opined Donovan was better than Ralston. Ralston was collecting Scotland call-ups. Thus some argued, why not call-up Donovan instead?
Barring further misfortune rendering Johnston unavailable to play, Donovan again seems unlikely to be a first team regular in the season ahead. Would this be a good time for Donovan to go on loan for regular first team football?
Max Johnston
| Age | 22 |
| Full Scotland caps | 4 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 13 |
| Year of last full cap | 2025 (away v Belarus) |
| Current club | Derby County |
| Current club division | English 2nd tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 81.8 (7th globally) |
Any hopes Johnston had for the Scotland World Cup squad were doomed by 4 a month hamstring injury from November to April. Further, in the 6 Derby games he played in his comeback, he subbed off twice and on 4 times. His numbers in those 6 games were unconvincing. Johnston though will no doubt look to get a solid pre-season under his belt with the intent of impressing & earning a Scotland recall.
Ross McCrorie
| Age | 28 |
| Full Scotland caps | 2 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 46 |
| Year of last full cap | 2026 (neutral venue v Cote D’Ivoire) |
| Current club | Rangers |
| Current club division | Scottish 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 75.3 (43rd globally) |
Arguably Steve Clarke could have taken the versatile McCrorie to the World Cup instead of each of a RB & a CB, allowing Lennon Miller to travel for additional MF cover. Clarke though, seems to have felt that the injury records of Nathan Patterson & especially Aaron Hickey, merited taking the more internationally experienced Tony Ralston as specialist RB cover.
Looking to September though, among possible Scotland fullbacks, will McCrorie’s versatility tip squad selection in his favour?
James Penrice
| Age | 27 |
| Full Scotland caps | 0 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 0 |
| Year of last full cap | N/A |
| Current club | AEK |
| Current club division | Greek 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 77.3 (28th globally) |
Penrice was great bang for buck when he joined Hearts in 2024, impressing sufficiently to earn his move a year later to AEK. He has a solid 7.01 Fotmob rating playing in the Greek top tier last season, helping AEK win the league in doing so.
Neither Penrice nor Stavros Pilios fully cemented the AEK LB spot as his own. Penrice played 1,088 mins pre-split and 281 mins post-split.
Looking forward though, he has been linked with a possible Summer move with Rangers reported as a possibility. Like with Doig above, even with Andy Robertson now aged 32, Penrice still faces a significant challenge to fight his way into the squad. That is even more so with Penrice since Doig is younger, has more caps & squad call-ups, and currently plays in a higher ranked division.
Calvin Ramsay
| Age | 22 |
| Full Scotland caps | 1 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 17 |
| Year of last full cap | 2022 (away v Turkiye) |
| Current club | Liverpool |
| Current club division | English 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 91.6 (1st globally) |
Where did it go wrong for Calvin Ramsay? Specifically, such was his perceived value impressing for Aberdeen, Liverpool shelled out £5m, for his services in Summer 2022. Since then injuries & unconvincing loans have seen his value drop to £1.5m. In his 4 years since moving to England, Calvin Ramsay has played the exact same number of EPL minutes as Calvin Harris. Ramsay though did impress with a solid FA Cup performance against Crystal Palace last season.
Ramsay can, though, consider Andoni Iraola’s appointment as Liverpool manager as an opportunity for a fresh start & a chance to impress a new boss. Ramsay turns 23 later this month.
Greg Taylor
| Age | 28 |
| Full Scotland caps | 14 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 19 |
| Year of last full cap | 2024 (home v Finland) |
| Current club | PAOK |
| Current club division | Greek 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 77.3 (28th globally) |
Greg Taylor was a Scotland squad regular (41 call-ups), especially when Clarke played Tierney at LCB. However, Doig displaced Taylor’s place in Clarke’s preferred pecking order.
Taylor is the 2nd of the possible Scotland fullbacks in this list, who moved to the Greek top division in Summer 2025, in Taylor’s case to PAOK. PAOK were intermittent table-toppers during a closely fought 3 way fight for the league title. However, they were unable to regain the league title they won in 2019 & 2024, finishing what they will likely feel was a disappointing 3rd behind Penrice’s AEK & Olympiacos.
Taylor, understudying Baba Rahman, had less first team action than Penrice in the season just ended. Specifically, Taylor played 965 pre-split mins & zero post-split mins in the Greek Super League. Taylor may well move this Summer.
Which Scotland fullbacks are likeliest to be called up?
Much depends on who is playing first team football, either at their current or a new club. Further, much of that depends on who avoids injury. FB is an area in which Scotland is especially rich with injury prone players (Hickey, Patterson, Tierney). The new boss-to-be may not have all players available to choose from. Hence, FB is an especially difficult position on which to speculate this far ahead. Things will be clearer as players nearer the time are declared unavailable due to their latest e.g., hamstring injury.
