Jim Leighton or Andy Goram? Ask that in any pub north of Carlisle and you won't get home on time. I've had a go at the whole team anyway, and it leans hard on the Aberdeen side that beat Real Madrid in Gothenburg. Law is up front, because he's the only Scot with a Ballon d'Or.
It's a 4-2-3-1, with Billy Bremner and Graeme Souness sitting and Kenny Dalglish just off Law. That shape costs me Jim Baxter, and I know it. I'd still rather have two who can tackle in front of the back four than find a shirt for Slim Jim.
Rangers fans, I know. Goram, Greig, Baxter and McCoist all end up on the bench while three Aberdeen players start, and I'm ready for the abuse that comes with that.
| Position | Player | Main clubs | Scotland years |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Jim Leighton | Aberdeen, Manchester United | 1982 to 1998 |
| RB | Danny McGrain | Celtic | 1973 to 1982 |
| CB | Alex McLeish | Aberdeen | 1980 to 1993 |
| CB | Willie Miller | Aberdeen | 1975 to 1989 |
| LB | Andy Robertson | Hull City, Liverpool | 2014 to date |
| DM | Billy Bremner | Leeds United | 1965 to 1975 |
| DM | Graeme Souness | Liverpool, Sampdoria, Rangers | 1974 to 1986 |
| RW | Jimmy Johnstone | Celtic | 1964 to 1974 |
| AM | Kenny Dalglish | Celtic, Liverpool | 1971 to 1986 |
| LW | John Robertson | Nottingham Forest | 1978 to 1983 |
| ST | Denis Law | Manchester United, Torino | 1958 to 1974 |
In goal
I went back and forth on this one more than any other shirt. The case for Goram is a good one. At his best, in the middle of Rangers' run of titles in the 1990s, he was the keeper strikers in Scotland least wanted to see, and he played at Euro 92 and Euro 96. If you've got him in your side I won't argue very hard.
Leighton isn't spotless either. Alex Ferguson dropped him for the 1990 FA Cup final replay after a bad afternoon in the first game, and that stuck to him for years. But he won 91 caps to Goram's 43, played at three World Cups in 1986, 1990 and 1998, and was still Scotland's number one in France at 39. He was also in goal in Gothenburg with Miller and McLeish in front of him, so you get the three of them as a unit. Leighton, narrowly.
The back four
Danny McGrain was a Celtic right back for the best part of two decades and went to the 1974 World Cup, where Scotland came home without losing a match. He was diagnosed with diabetes not long after and kept playing for years.
Centre back is where it gets awkward, because the obvious name is Alan Hansen and I've left him out. You know why if you were watching in 1982. Scotland needed to beat the USSR in Malaga, Hansen and Willie Miller ran into each other chasing the same ball, and Ramaz Shengelia went through to score. It ended 2-2 and Scotland went out on goal difference. By 1986 Hansen wasn't in the squad at all.
So it's Miller and Alex McLeish, who did it together for over a decade at Aberdeen and both went to the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. Miller was the captain who lifted the Cup Winners' Cup in 1983 after the 2-1 win over Real Madrid, and he organised that defence from the first minute to the last. McLeish, big and brave, did most of the heading.
Andy Robertson is the one current name. Queen's Park, Dundee United, Hull, then nine years at Liverpool with a Champions League and two league titles, before a free move to Tottenham this summer. He's captained Scotland since 2018, took them to the 2026 World Cup, and won his 100th cap in a 2-0 win in North Macedonia on 3 October. Only Dalglish had got there before him. The best argument against him is Tommy Gemmell, who scored in the 1967 European Cup final in Lisbon, and a Celtic fan will tell you that's worth more than any number of caps. I'd hear it out and still pick Robertson.
The two in front of them
Billy Bremner captained Leeds to the title in 1969 and again in 1974. That summer he captained Scotland at the World Cup in West Germany, where they drew with Brazil and Yugoslavia, beat Zaire, and still went home unbeaten on goal difference.
Graeme Souness won three European Cups with Liverpool and lifted the third as captain in 1984. Then Sampdoria, then Rangers as player-manager. Souness had more of the passing in him, though Bremner could play too, and I wouldn't fancy being the midfielder trying to get past either of them on a wet night.
Behind Law
Jinky first. Jimmy Johnstone was a Lisbon Lion in 1967 and finished third in the Ballon d'Or that year. In 2002 Celtic fans voted him the greatest player the club has had, which tells you something given who else has worn the shirt. On a day when the game is stuck, he's the one who'll beat three men to unstick it.
Kenny Dalglish. 102 caps, and still nobody has more. Four league titles at Celtic, then Liverpool, where he scored the winner in the 1978 European Cup final, and he shares Scotland's goals record with Law on 30. Playing in the hole, he drags a centre back out of position, and that's the half yard Law lived on.
On the left I wanted a proper winger, and there's nobody better than John Robertson. He crossed for Trevor Francis to win the 1979 European Cup for Nottingham Forest, then scored the winner himself in the 1980 final. He scored at the 1982 World Cup too.
Up front
Denis Law. Huddersfield, Manchester City, Torino and then Manchester United, where he won the Ballon d'Or in 1964. No other Scot has won it. Joe Jordan scored at three World Cups and I thought about him for a long time. It's still Law.
Who missed out
- Andy Goram. Lost the goalkeeper vote by a whisker. See above.
- Alan Hansen. Three European Cups with Liverpool and one of the best ball-playing centre backs Britain has produced. If this were a Liverpool XI he'd be first on the sheet. For Scotland it was Malaga, then left out in 1986, and I can't get past that.
- Billy McNeill. The first British captain to lift the European Cup. Miller and McLeish come as a pair, though, and I'm not splitting them.
- Jim Baxter. Played keepy-up at Wembley in 1967 while Scotland beat the world champions 3-2. He was a left-half playmaker, and in a 4-3-3 he'd walk in. In this shape he doesn't, which is my choice and I'll own it.
- Dave Mackay. Won the double with Spurs in 1961. Bremner and Souness already do his job.
- John Greig. Captained Rangers and Scotland, and I still couldn't find him a place.
- Gordon Strachan. Played in Gothenburg and captained Leeds to the 1992 title. Johnstone has the right wing.
- Joe Jordan. The only Scot to score at three World Cups, in 1974, 1978 and 1982.
- Archie Gemmill. That goal against the Netherlands in 1978.
- Ally McCoist. Rangers' record goalscorer. Same story as Jordan.
- Scott McTominay. Won Serie A in his first season at Napoli, and his overhead kick in the 4-2 win over Denmark in November 2025 sent Scotland to the World Cup. He's got time to force his way into this team, and I wouldn't bet against him doing it.
- And for anyone who wants to go right back, Alan Morton and Hughie Gallacher from the Wembley Wizards who won 5-1 in 1928.
A few quick ones
Has Scotland ever got past a World Cup group stage? No. They've been to nine, most recently 2026, when a 1-0 win over Haiti wasn't enough after defeats by Morocco and Brazil.
Who has the most Scotland caps? Kenny Dalglish with 102. Andy Robertson is second, having reached 100 in October 2026.
Make your own
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