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

Scotland are currently going through their final preparations before ending a 28-year absence at the 2026 World Cup.

The Tartan Army will make the journey to the United States where they will play group fixtures against Haiti, Morocco and five-time champions Brazil.

Steve Clarke's side will first enjoy a World Cup send-off in a Hampden Park friendly with Curacao on Saturday, before they travel to New Jersey for a showdown with Bolivia.

Clarke will be hoping that his squad, who are naturally all making their first-ever appearance at a World Cup, can emulate achievements of some of the legends from years gone by.

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

Who are Scotland's biggest World Cup legends?

As a nation that has never progressed past the group stage at a World Cup and whose only appearance since 1990 was the 1998 edition, a large chunk of Scotland's World Cup legends were representatives from the 1970s and 1980s.

However, it is goalkeeper Jim Leighton, who featured in the 1986, 1990 and 1998 tournaments, that has racked up the most World Cup appearances in a Scotland shirt with nine.

Although Scotland only won one game - a 2-1 victory over Sweden in 1990 - with the Aberdeen legend between the sticks, he went eight consecutive outings without conceding more than twice in a single game before his final appearance, which was a 3-0 reverse 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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