Choose your own Scotland World Cup legends XI: Who joins Dalglish, Leighton and Jordan?

Scotland's long-awaited return to the World Cup came to an early end at the group stage after the Tartan Army's first appearance at the tournament in 28 years.

Steve Clarke's side travelled to the United States hoping to make history but ultimately finished third in Group C after facing Haiti, Morocco and five-time champions Brazil.

A narrow 1-0 victory over Haiti provided Scotland's only points of the campaign, before defeats to Morocco and Brazil brought their World Cup journey to a disappointing end.

Following the tournament, Clarke stepped down as Scotland manager, bringing an end to his seven-year spell in charge after guiding the national team back to football's biggest tournament.

Despite the early exit, several members of the squad were able to make their World Cup debuts and write their own chapter in Scottish football history alongside some of the country's greatest players.

Here, Sports Mole gives you the opportunity to select your best Scotland legends XI - be sure to share your line-up with your friends and on social media!

Who are Scotland's biggest World Cup legends?

As a nation that has never progressed beyond the group stage of a World Cup and whose only appearance between 1990 and 2026 came at the 1998 tournament, many of Scotland's greatest World Cup players represented the national team during the 1970s and 1980s.

However, goalkeeper Jim Leighton, who featured at the 1986, 1990 and 1998 World Cups, holds the record for the most tournament appearances by a Scotland player with nine.

Although Scotland won just one match during Leighton's time between the posts, a 2-1 victory over Sweden in 1990, the Aberdeen legend went eight consecutive World Cup appearances without conceding more than twice in a game before his final outing, a 3-0 defeat to Morocco in Saint Etienne.

Joe Jordan is also a standout figure in Scotland's history, featuring in three World Cup Finals where he scored four times in seven appearances. 

Jordan, who represented the likes of Leeds United, Manchester United and AC Milan during his playing career, has netted two more World Cup goals for Scotland than anyone else.

Sir Kenny Dalglish, naturally, is also a distinguished name in Scotland's World Cup history, his total of eight appearances only being beaten by Leighton.

Scotland have only won four games at a World Cup Finals in their history, Dalglish netting in two of them. A 3-2 victory over Netherlands in 1978 was followed by a 5-2 triumph against New Zealand in the opening game of the 1982 edition.

Archie Gemmill deserves a mention for his two goals in the aforementioned win over Netherlands, while John Collins will always be remembered for his equalising penalty against Brazil in the opening game of the 1998 World Cup.

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