Craig Gordon

Craig Gordon is the veteran goalkeeper in Steve Clarke's Scotland squad for the 2026 World Cup, named in the goalkeeper group alongside Angus Gunn and Liam Kelly. The Heart of Midlothian keeper is 43 at kick-off and brings 83 senior Scotland caps into a tournament that will be his country's first World Cup since 1998. He became Scotland's oldest international footballer in June 2024, and an appearance at the finals would make him the second-oldest man to play at a World Cup.

Scotland face Brazil, Morocco and Haiti in Group C, opening against Haiti at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on 13 June. Clarke's side won UEFA Group C to qualify on 18 November 2025, ending a 28-year absence from the finals. Gordon is one of three goalkeepers Clarke has named in the squad.

Gordon is a long-serving shot-stopper whose game is built on reflexes, positioning and command of his penalty area, the core goalkeeping work he has done across two decades in the Scotland set-up. Handling under crosses and distribution from the back round out a profile that has kept him in the international picture into his forties.

Clarke's Scotland defend deep and block shots in numbers, a system that asks the goalkeeper to deal with a high volume of efforts and to organise the line in front of him. Gordon's experience and longevity make him a steady presence in that goalkeeping group.

Craig Gordon's Goal Rush relevance is in goalkeeping rather than goals: at 43 he offers shot-stopping and command of the area behind a Scotland side built to defend deep and block efforts in numbers. Scotland are a Tier 4 team at £10m within the game's £200m card budget, one of the lower-band picks, with Steve Clarke's 4-2-3-1 and the run through UEFA Group C qualifying shaping why managers take the slot. The Group C draw with Brazil, Morocco and Haiti sets the early fixture window.