Contents

Scotland national football team results (unofficial matches)

Scotland national football team results
1872–1914 (matches 1–113) 1920–39 (matches 114–188) 1940–59 (matches 189–274) 1960–79 (matches 275–432) 1980–99 (matches 433–611) 2000–19 (matches 612–783) 2020–present (matches 784–839) Unofficial matches

From 1870 to the present day, the Scotland national football team have played various matches that are not accorded the status of official (FIFA) internationals by the governing body, the Scottish Football Association.^[1][2] These include early matches against England prior to the first-ever official international in 1872,^[3] wartime fixtures between 1914–1919 and 1939–1946 when official competitions were suspended,^[4] overseas tour matches played by a Scotland XI of varying strength and status,^[5] and others as specified.

While some of the tour matches (involving players under consideration for the national team, some having already been capped at full level) could be seen as similar in status to those played by the Scotland B team, they have not been recorded officially as such.

List of Matches[edit]

1870s–1910s[edit]

1870–1872 England v Scotland matches[edit]

The selection of the Scottish XI were players drawn from living and working in and around London area. Some of the players' Scottish links were tenuous and in some cases non-existent.^[6]

Names of note included Alexander Morten, who played in the first match, Arnold Kirke-Smith, who played in two matches, and William Lindsay, who played in all five matches, of the Scotland representative team were all in fact later capped by the official England national team.^[6]

England v Scotland

5 March 1870 International Friendly	England	1–1	Scotland	London
15:15	Baker 89'	Report 1 Report 2	Crawford 75'	Stadium: The Oval Cricket Ground Attendance: 500

England v Scotland

19 November 1870 International Friendly	England	1–0	Scotland	London
15:00	Walker 10'	Report 1 Report 2		Stadium: The Oval Cricket Ground Attendance: 650 Referee: M.P. Betts / A. Morton

England v Scotland

25 February 1871 International Friendly[a]	England	1–1	Scotland	London
15:30	Walker	Report 1 Report 2	Nepean 15'	Stadium: The Oval Cricket Ground Attendance: >500 Referee: C.M. Tebbut / R. Barker / W. Wallace

England v Scotland

18 November 1871 International Friendly	England	2–1	Scotland	London
15:00	Walker	Report 1 Report 2	Tailyour	Stadium: The Oval Cricket Ground Attendance: >600 Referee: A. Stair / G. Kennedy

England v Scotland

24 February 1872 International Friendly	England	1–0	Scotland	London
15:25	Clegg	Report 1 Report 2		Stadium: The Oval Cricket Ground Attendance: <1000 Referee: A. Morten

1880[edit]

In 1880, a Scottish tour of Canada and The United States was suggested. Several preparatory matches were played, mostly against club sides and including a mini-tour of northern England, with the potential traveling squad referred to as the 'Scotch Canadians'. However, the tour itself never went ahead after the death of its main organiser, SFA secretary William Dick.^[7][8] Four matches are detailed below:

A match was scheduled with Morton on May 22,^[9] but was cancelled because the Greenock Academy directors refused them permission to use Academy Park.^[10]

Rangersv Scotland

1 January 1880[11] Friendly	Rangers	2–3	Scotland	Kinning Park
				Stadium: Kinning Park Attendance: 1,500 Referee: J. A. Allan

Tyne and District v  Scotland

2 January 1880[12] Friendly	Tyne and District	0–5	Scotland	Newcastle
				Attendance: 2000

Blackburn Roversv Scotland

3 January 1880[13] Friendly	Blackburn Rovers	1–8	Scotland	Blackburn
				Stadium: Alexandra Meadows[14] Attendance: 3000

Darwenv Scotland

7 February 1880[15] Friendly	Darwen	3–7	Scotland
				Attendance: 6000

Manchester Wanderers v  Scotland

9 February 1880[16] Friendly

Manchester Wanderers

1–8

Scotland

Manchester Cricket Club

Nottingham Forestv Scotland

10 February 1880[17] Friendly	Nottingham Forest	0–2	Scotland	West Bridgford
				Stadium: Trent Bridge Attendance: 6,000

Scottish Counties v  Scotland

14 February 1880[18] Friendly	Scottish Counties	2–2	Scotland	Kinning Park
	Beveridge 30' T. Patterson 86'		Ker Smith 88'	Stadium: Kinning Park

Ayrshire v  Scotland

21 February 1880[19] Friendly[a]	Ayrshire	1–3	Scotland	Kilmarnock
				Stadium: Rugby Park

Heart of Midlothianv Scotland

13 March 1880[21][22] Friendly	Heart of Midlothian	1–5	Scotland	Edinburgh
	C. Nelson		Campbell J. Galloway W. Struthers T. Masterton (og)	Stadium: Powderhall Attendance: 500

Abercorn/St Mirren XI v  Scotland

20 March 1880[23] Friendly	Abercorn/St MirrenXI	1–8	Scotland	Paisley
				Stadium: Thistle Park

Hibernianv Scotland

17 April 1880[24] Friendly	Hibernian	0–3	Scotland	Leith
			Kay 30' Ferguson Smith	Stadium: Hibernian Park Attendance: 5,000

Johnstone XI v  Scotland

23 June 1880[25] Friendly

Johnstone XI

3–7

Scotland

1888[edit]

Aberdeen XIv Scotland

21 April 1888 Friendly[26][27]	Aberdeen XI	1–6	Scotland	Aberdeen
				Stadium: The Chanonry Attendance: 4,000

Motherwellv Scotland

24 April 1888 Friendly[28]	Motherwell	1–2	Scotland	Motherwell
				Stadium: Roman Road Park Attendance: 5,000

Scotland v Canada

19 September 1888 International Friendly[a]	Scotland	4–0	Canada	Glasgow
	McCall Berry	Report		Stadium: Kelvingrove Park Attendance: 6,000

1891[edit]

Scotland v Corinthian FC

21 March 1891 Friendly[a]	Scotland	9–2	Corinthian FC	Glasgow
	Sellar 35' 40' Watt 41' 44' 89' Baird 50' 53' Rankin	Report	Clarke 12' Currey 20'	Stadium: Hampden Park (II) Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Bishop

Scotland v Canadian-Americans

3 October 1891 International Friendly[a]	Scotland	5–1	Canadian-Americans	Govan
	Hamilton 37' 78' McCreadie 47' Bell 85'	Report	Bell	Stadium: Ibrox Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee: J. Reid

1900[edit]

• Atestimonial match for Everton's Scottish player Willie Muir in September 1900 was played between 'Englishmen' and 'Scotchmen' based at Merseyside clubs; the Scots won 2–1.^[34]

1901[edit]

• Aexhibition match with Germany was scheduled for 28 September 1901 as part of the Glasgow International Exhibition,^[35] but was cancelled due to a disagreement over funds; the visiting German team lost 12–0 to England's amateur team a few days earlier.^[36]

1902[edit]

Scotland v England

5 April 1902 International Friendly[a]	Scotland	1–1	England	Govan
15:30	Brown 25'	Report 1 Report 2	Settle 44'	Stadium: Ibrox Park Attendance: 68,114 Referee: J. Torrans

Ireland v Scotland

9 August 1902 International Friendly[a]	Ireland	0–3	Scotland	Belfast
15:30		Report 1 Report 2	Speedie 30' Campbell 40' McDermott 60'	Stadium: Balmoral Showgrounds Attendance: 3,000 Referee: J. Torrans

• Atestimonial match for Liverpool's Scottish player William Goldie in November 1902 was played between an 'England Select XI ' and a 'Scotland Select XI' drawn from players at Merseyside clubs; the Scots won 4–0.^[41]

1913[edit]

• Atestimonial match for Rangers and Scotland winger Alec Smith was played in January 1913 between Rangers and an 'International XI' including the retired RS McColl, but this featured Wales international Billy Meredith.^[42]

1914[edit]

• Atestimonial match for Partick Thistle and Scotland player Alex Raisbeck was played in January 1914 between Partick and an 'International XI' team, but this included England international Jack Parkinson and several other players who had never played for Scotland.^[43]

World War I[edit]

By the end of the first year of fighting during World War I, most official football tournaments were suspended (a notable exception was the Scottish Football League Division One). International matches took place very occasionally during the duration of the war itself (July 1914 to November 1918) with Scotland only playing two, both military benefit matches against England. Following the Allied victory, regular sports events began to return, and Scotland played in two Victory International matches against Ireland followed by two against England in Spring 1919. Established competitions and fully recognised international matches resumed in the 1919–20 season.

1915[edit]

A fundraising match for the Belgian Refugee Relief Fund was played between an 'International XI' and an 'Edinburgh XI' in April 1915; the internationals included England's Joseph Hodkinson, Billy Meredith of Wales and William Crone who had played for the Irish League (Bobby Walker and Peter NelliesofHearts also switched sides pre-match to cover for call-offs).^[44][45]

England v Scotland

13 May 1916 International Friendly	England	4–3	Scotland	Liverpool
	Smith 7' Hampton 20' Abrams 41' Mosscrop 84'	Report	Scott 40' J. Reid 46' Galt 52'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 22,000

Scotland v England

8 June 1918 International Friendly[a]	Scotland	2–0	England	Glasgow
	Archibald McLean	Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 45,000

Scotland v Ireland

22 March 1919 Victory International[38]	Scotland	2–1	Ireland	Glasgow
	Wilson (pen.)	Report 1 Report 2	Halligan	Stadium: Ibrox Stadium Attendance: 50,000 Referee: A. A. Jackson

Ireland v Scotland

19 April 1919 Victory International[38]	Ireland	0–0	Scotland	Belfast
	Rollo	Report 1 Report 2		Stadium: Windsor Park Attendance: 44,000 Referee: W. Cowan

England v Scotland

26 April 1919 Victory International[38]	England	2–2	Scotland	Liverpool
	Turnbull Puddefoot 75'	Report 1 Report 2	Wright 2' Bowie	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 45,000 Referee: A. Warner

Scotland v England

3 May 1919 Victory International[38]	Scotland	3–4	England	Glasgow
	Wilson 50' (pen.), 87' Morton 65'	Report 1 Report 2	Grimsdell 20', 35' Puddefoot 37', 67'	Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 80,000 Referee: A. A. Jackson

1920s–1940s[edit]

1920[edit]

• ATestimonial match for Partick Thistle and Scotland player Jimmy McMullan was played in April 1920 between Partick and an 'International Select' team.^[49]

Rangersv Scotland

3 May 1920 Testimonial[a]	Rangers	1–0	Scotland	Glasgow
	Laird	Report		Stadium: Ibrox Park Attendance: 10,000 Referee: A. A. Jackson

1921 Tour of USA and Canada[edit]

AScotland XI tour of Canada and the USA was organised by Glasgow club Third Lanark and the Dominion of Canada Football Association. Some local publications of the time listed the visitors as 'Third Lanark', others as 'Scotland'.^{[5][52][53][54][55]}

• Squad:

• 25 matches were played, with 24 wins, 1 draw and 0 defeats. 1 match is detailed below:

Canada v Scotland

9 July 1921 International Friendly	Canada	0–1	Scotland	Montreal
		Report 1 Report 2	Rankin	Stadium: Alexander Park Attendance: 6,000 Referee: B. Dean

1923[edit]

• Third Lanark undertook another summer tour in 1923, this time to South America (eight matches),^[56] and again guest players from other clubs were invited, the most high-profile being Hughie Ferguson,^[57] but although apparently some attempt was made to portray this as a 'Scotland team',^[57] this was much less prevalent than for the 1921 tour and only one of the players had been capped at full level (Robert Orrock who played in one match ten years earlier).

1927[edit]

• Atestimonial match for Bradford City defender Willie Watson was played in April 1927 between Bradford and a 'Scottish Internationals' team, but this included Ireland international Bert Manderson and several other players who had never played for Scotland.^[58]

1927 Tour of USA and Canada[edit]

AScotland XI tour of North America was organised by the SFA in 1927.^[59][60][5]

• Squad:

• 20 matches were played, with 19 wins, 0 draws and 1 defeat. 3 matches are detailed below:

Ontario All-Starsv Scotland

28 May 1927 Friendly	Ontario All-Stars	3–2	Scotland	Toronto
	Graham Faulkner		Gallacher McLean	Referee: W. Mitchell

Hakoah Viennav Scotland

29 June 1927 Friendly	Hakoah Vienna	1–4	Scotland	Winnipeg
	Grünwald		Muirhead Munro Cunningham	Attendance: 12,000 Referee: S. McMahon

Ontario All-Starsv Scotland

10 July 1927 Friendly	Ontario All-Stars	0–10	Scotland	Toronto
			Munro McLean Cunningham Hunter	Attendance: 12,000 Referee: A. McNeilly

1929[edit]

Norway v Scotland

28 May 1929 International Friendly[a]	Norway	0–4	Scotland	Oslo
		Report 1 Report 2	Fleming Rankin Nisbet	Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion Attendance: 8,000

• A friendly match between Scotland and the Netherlands in June 1929 was retrospectively considered not to be official by the Royal Dutch Football Association due to their disapproval of professionalism in the sport–all the Scotland players were professionals.^[64][65] The SFA regards it as official.^[66]

1932[edit]

• A friendly match in Copenhagen on 9 October 1932 in which Denmark defeated the Scotland amateur team 3–1 (James Paul scored the Scottish goal)^[67][68] is regarded as a full international by the Danish Football Union,^[69][70] and consequently has sometimes been included in overviews of matches between the nations.^[71]

1935 Tour of USA and Canada[edit]

AScotland XI tour of North America was organised by the SFA in 1935.^{[5][72][73][74][75]}

• Squad:

• 13 matches were played, with 13 wins, 0 draws and 0 defeats. 2 matches are detailed below:

United States ^[b]v Scotland

19 May 1935 International Friendly[a]	United States [b]	1–5	Scotland	New York City
	McEwan	Report 1 Report 2	Mills Duncan Meiklejohn	Stadium: Polo Grounds Attendance: 22,970

United States ^[b]v Scotland

9 June 1935 International Friendly[a]	United States [b]	1–4	Scotland	Roseville, Newark, New Jersey
	Moorhouse	Report 1 Report 2	Gallacher Mills Duncan Meiklejohn	Stadium: Newark Schools Stadium Attendance: 8,436

1935[edit]

^[b]England v Scotland^[c]

8 May 1935 International Friendly[a]	[b]England	0–1	Scotland[c]	London
		Report 1 Report 2	Mutch 79'	Stadium: Arsenal Stadium Attendance: 8,944

Scotland v England

21 August 1935 International Friendly[a]	Scotland	4–2	England	Glasgow
	Delaney 8' Armstrong 30' Walker 44' (pen.)	Report 1 Report 2	Gurney 82' Westwood 87'	Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 56,300 Referee: W. Webb

1939 Tour of USA and Canada[edit]

AScotland XI tour of North America was organised by the SFA in 1939.^{[5][80][81][82]}

• Squad:

• 14 matches were played, with 13 wins, 1 draw and 0 defeats. 2 matches are detailed below:

United States ^[a]v Scotland

21 May 1939 International Friendly[83]	United States [a]	1–1	Scotland	New York City
	Nemchik	Report	Garrett	Stadium: Polo Grounds Attendance: 25,072

United States ^[a]v Scotland

18 June 1939 International Friendly[83]	United States [a]	2–4 (aet)	Scotland	New York City
	Boyle Altemose	Report	Carabine Gillies	Stadium: Polo Grounds Attendance: 15,196

World War II[edit]

Official football tournaments were suspended soon after the outbreak of World War II in Autumn 1939. International matches took place occasionally during the duration of the war itself, with Scotland playing against England 15 times, a team representing the Republic of Ireland once, and various branches of the British armed forces who could call on strong squads of professional players called into service.^[84] In addition, there were six 'Army Internationals' nominally between Scotland and England, but with the players selected from members of the military stationed in each country regardless of their heritage (the 'Army in England' team won five of these, with one draw).^[84][48]

When the conflict ended in May 1945 with an Allied victory, regular sports events began to return, and Scotland participated in, and won, the 1945–46 British Victory Home Championship. Two further Victory International matches in 1946 against Belgium^[85][86] and Switzerland^[87][88] are considered to have full international status.^[89] All established competitions and fully recognised international matches resumed in the 1946–47 season, the outset of which included one further unofficial England v Scotland match to raise funds for those affected by the Burnden Park disaster earlier that year.^[90]

England v Scotland

2 December 1939 International Friendly[a]	England	2–1	Scotland	Newcastle-upon-Tyne
	Clifton Lawton Carter	Report 1 Report 2	Dodds	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 15,000 Referee: H. Nattrass

Scotland v British Army

16 March 1940 Friendly[91][92]	Scotland	2–2	British Army	Galashiels
	Anderson 65' Gillies 75'	Report	Martin Miller	Stadium: Galabank Attendance: 7,000

British Army v Scotland

20 April 1940 Friendly[93][94]	British Army	1–5	Scotland	Berwick-upon-Tweed
	Carrigan	Report	Gilmour Wallace	Stadium: Shielfield Park

Scotland v British Army

24 April 1940 Friendly[95]	Scotland	4–1	British Army	Edinburgh
	Walker McCulloch		Compton	Stadium: Tynecastle Park Attendance: 7,650 Referee: R. B. Carruthers

Ireland (FAI) v Scotland

28 April 1940 International Friendly[a]	Ireland (FAI)	2–3	Scotland	Dublin
	Bradshaw Dunne	Report	McKennan Gillick Dewar	Stadium: Dalymount Park Attendance: 21,630 Referee: P. Snape

Scotland v England

11 May 1940 International Friendly[83]	Scotland	1–1	England	Glasgow
	Dougal	Report 1 Report 2	Welsh	Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 75,000 Referee: W. Webb

Scotland v British Army

14 December 1940 Friendly[100][101]	Scotland	4–2	British Army	Kirkcaldy
	Milne 15' Brown 55' Gilmartin 70' McIntosh	Report	McCartney 75' Stevenson 76'	Stadium: Stark's Park Attendance: 7,000

Scotland v British Army

25 January 1941 Friendly[102][103]	Scotland	1–0	British Army	Dundee
	Flavell	Report		Stadium: Dens Park Attendance: 4,000

England v Scotland

8 February 1941 International Friendly[83]	England	2–3	Scotland	Newcastle-upon-Tyne
	Birkett 7' Lawton 41'	Report 1 Report 2	Bacuzzi 17' (o.g.) Wallace 45', 67'	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 25,000 Referee: T. Thompson

Scotland ^[a]v Scottish Command

19 April 1941 Friendly[104]	Scotland [a]	2–1	Scottish Command	Aberdeen
	Mills 17' Wallace pen' (80)	Report	Yorston 38'	Stadium: Linksfield Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: W. Jeffrey

Scotland v England

3 May 1941 International Friendly[83]	Scotland	1–3	England	Glasgow
	Venters 10'	Report 1 Report 2	Welsh 44' 87' Goulden	Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 78,000 Referee: P. Craigmyle