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 winger call-ups, we next look at possible Scotland strikers for call-up.
Scotland strikers in the World Cup squad
Before the main part of the article, this is a brief summary of Scotland strikers who went to the World Cup. Stats are as at 18 July 2026.
Ché Adams
The first of the Scotland strikers we look at who went to World Cup 2026, is Ché Adams. Adams reached his 30th birthday 5 days ago. And further, appearances at the World Cup took him to 50 SMNT caps.
Lyndon Dykes
He is currently linked with possible transfer to Venezia (newly promoted to Serie A) to play as a second striker. He is also linked with varying levels of speculation with a move to his ex-club Birmingham City, Wolverhampton Wanderers & Wrexham.
World Cup appearances took Dykes to 53 Scotland caps. He is currently a free agent since leaving Charlton Athletic at the end of last season. Burnley, Middlesbrough, Bristol City and Cardiff City are reported as joining Millwall and Leicester City in the race to sign him. He will reach 31 during the next international break.
George Hirst
Hirst is the only one of the 5 Scotland strikers at World Cup 2026 not to play any match time. He is 27 years old and has 10 SMNT caps. He won promotion with Ipswich Town last season, to play in the EPL this coming season.
Lawrence Shankland
Shankland has moved this Summer from Hearts to Rangers, where he will likely score a bundle of goals. He has 22 SMNT caps & will be 31 next month.
Ross Stewart
Stewart did enough pre-World Cup to convince Clarke he was worth the injury risk of taking to USA. One week ago, Stewart reached 30 years of age. He has 4 SMNT caps & is a free agent after leaving Southampton in the Summer. Also, he has been linked with Celtic & Sheffield United.
Additional Scotland strikers to call-up?
Kieron Bowie
| Age | 23 |
| Full Scotland caps | 2 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 11 |
| Year of last full cap | 2025 (home v Belarus) |
| Current club | Hellas Verona |
| Current club division | Italian 2nd tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 76.3 (35th globally) |
Of the Scotland strikers not to travel in the World Cup squad, we look first at Kieron Bowie. Specifically, Bowie took 5 games to open his Serie A scoring account after his Winter transfer from Hibernian to Verona. That though started an impressive run of 4 goals in his last 9 games of the season for a struggling Verona side in which he was often starved of service. The last 2 of those goals were against no less than Italian big guns, Juventus & Inter.
Those goals though were insufficient to spare Verona from the end of season drop to Serie B. Subsequently, he has been reported attracting Summer transfer interest in Serie A from Bologna, Cagliari & Sassuolo as well as Celtic in Scotland. Consequently, Verona have been reported placing a £13m price tag on him to scare off interest.
IF Bowie were to stay in Serie A & maintain the strike rate at which he ended last season, he would be very difficult for a new Scotland boss to ignore.
Oli Burke
Burke was featured in this article profiling wingers.
Caelan-Kole Cadamarteri
| Age | 16 |
| Full Scotland caps | 0 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 12 |
| Year of last full cap | N/A |
| Current club | Manchester City |
| Current club division | English 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 91.7 (1st globally) |
Cadamarteri was born in Cupar during the 18 month spell his dad, Danny Cadamarteri, had on the books at Dundee United. When Danny left Tannadice, he did so with a 2010 Scottish Cup winners medal.
Cadamarteri is similar to Jack McGrath who we profiled in our article in this series on midfielders. Specifically, both are yet to feature in a senior level first team. Also, both are potential elite level players. Cadamarteri joined the Manchester City youth setup last Summer, for £1m plus add-ons from Sheffield Wednesday. Aged 15 at the time, Cadamarteri tallied 24 goals and 10 assists in 23 games for the Owls’ Under-18 side.
He continued in similar form last season, notching 35 goals and 12 assists for the Man City U16 and U19 teams. Further, he scored 5 goals in 7 Scotland U17 games, & once in 2 games for the U19s.
Caelan Cadamarteri previously played twice for England U16s. In the Summer, he was called up for the Jamaica full squad for the Unity Cup, although he didn’t play any match minutes. His 21-year-old brother, Bailey, has 8 full Jamaica caps. Like McGrath, the sooner Caelan Cadamarteri is tied to playing for Scotland, the better. However, given his age & lack of first team experience, the Autumn internationals are likely too soon for him.
Tommy Conway
| Age | 23 |
| Full Scotland caps | 8 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 5 |
| Year of last full cap | 2026 (neutral venue v Cote d’Ivoire) |
| Current club | Middlesbrough |
| Current club division | English 2nd tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 82.2 (7th globally) |
Hard-working Conway looked on track for World Cup squad selection, going by Clarke playing him in both friendlies in the March break. However, injury sustained in the end of season playoffs versus Southampton, ruled Conway out of World Cup contention.
Conway is expected to return to first team action for Boro in August. Given that Boro boss Kim Hellberg preferred playing Conway on the left last season, Conway may find it difficult to attain selection for a striker slot in the new boss’ squad. The new boss though may like Clarke, look on Conway’s versatility & work ethic as an asset to be utilised.
Fraser Hornby
| Age | 26 |
| Full Scotland caps | 0 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 34 |
| Year of last full cap | N/A |
| Current club | Wolfsburg |
| Current club division | German 2nd tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 77.06 (26th globally) * |
Hornby’s performances as a supporting striker earned him a transfer in the summer from Darmstadt to Wolfsburg, both in Germany’s 2nd tier. However, his injury record isn’t good. Hence he made only 27 league & cup appearances last season. 13 goals & 9 assists in those games though, illustrate that he has much to offer when on the pitch.
Late season injury ruled out any outside chance of a late call-up for the World Cup.
Oli McBurnie
| Age | 30 |
| Full Scotland caps | 17 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 16 |
| Year of last full cap | 2021 (home v Faroe Islands) |
| Current club | Hull City |
| Current club division | English 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 91.7 (1st globally) |
If there is one player more than any other who likely feels Steve Clarke’s resignation opens the door to rejuvenation in international football, McBurnie is that player. McBurnie, despite an excellent season winning promotion with Hull City to the EPL, wasn’t selected for the World Cup squad. Was he an (unfortunate?) victim of some sort of no dickheads policy of Steve Clarke? That is all in the past now.
If McBurnie has anywhere near his stats of last season playing in the EPL in the season ahead, he will catch the attention of the new boss. It remains to be seen if McBurnie hits similar numbers at the higher level ahead, and even if he does, if the incoming boss selects him.
Kevin Nisbet
| Age | 29 |
| Full Scotland caps | 11 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 1 |
| Year of last full cap | 2023 (h v Georgia) |
| Current club | Aberdeen |
| Current club division | Scottish 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 75.5 (43rd globally) |
No place for Nisbet in an SMNT squad since the March 2025 Nations League playoffs v Greece, and no cap since March 2023, reflects Lawrence Shankland has pulled away in their contest to be known as the best finisher in Scottish football. Nisbet though is hoping a pre-season under his belt without injury can propel his goals tally & earn a recall.
Robbie Ure
| Age | 22 |
| Full Scotland caps | 0 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 5 |
| Year of last full cap | N/A |
| Current club | Sirius |
| Current club division | Swedish 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 77.7 (27th globally) |
Ure is on an electric run of 17 goals from 17 games for Sirius in the current Swedish season. Given Lawrence Shankland was selected for his goals in a lower Opta ranked division last season, Ure has to be worth looking at if he maintains anything near that strike rate. He is though linked with transfers to any of Nice, Strasbourg, Hoffenheim, Lyon, Trabzonspor & Lecce. Hence, it remains to be seen if he does move, how much game time he receives and what his output is.
Rory Wilson
| Age | 20 |
| Full Scotland caps | 0 |
| Age group Scotland caps | 33 |
| Year of last full cap | N/A |
| Current club | Aston Villa |
| Current club division | English 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 91.7 (1st globally) |
For a long time, the kid from Girvan was seen as the upcoming great hope for Scotland strikers. 50 goals in a season in the Rangers youth setup, brought about a move to Aston Villa. 24 goals in 22 Villa U18 Premier League games followed. He similarly scored 16 goals in 19 games for Scotland U17s.
However, that hasn’t materialised into first team goals. He had a lengthy absence in the last year due to a bone spur. He went on loan to Sturm Graz in February in pursuit of first team football. That though produced only 23 mins of 1st team action from only 4 first team appearances.
Wilson needs to go somewhere and get first team football.
Which Scotland strikers are likeliest to be called up?
Of the incumbent Scotland strikers, Dykes’ place in the squad seems most at risk. For all his hard work, he has scored only once for Scotland since he scored in Oslo over 3 years ago.
For all these players, a huge amount depends on what their form is between now & the international break starting in September, and who the new boss is. Hirst & McBurnie have the chance to impress in the world’s highest Opta ranked division. While superb if either or both do, neither has scored consistently when previously playing at that level.
Maybe time for some younger blood? Neither Bowie nor Ure has done their chances any harm with their most recent form.
Let’s see who impresses between now & September.
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* The listed 18 July 2026 rating & ranking for 2. Bundesliga in the Fraser Hornby profile are retrospective interpolations. They are corrections to an Editor error at time of article publication.
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