Scotland pick Ross Stewart and 2 former Southampton players for 2026 World Cup

Scotland has picked Ross Stewart and 2 former Southampton players as part of their initial 26-man FIFA World Cup 2026 squad.

Amidst the ‘Spygate’ scandal and the chaos surrounding the 2025/26 Championship playoff final, it’s easy to forget the 2026 FIFA World Cup is around the corner as well. The 2026 edition of the global tournament kicks off on 11th June, less than a month from now.

All 48 participating national teams have started announcing their 2026 FIFA World Cup squads this week. Very recently, the Japan national team named their initial 26-man squad featuring Southampton loanee Yukinari Sugawara who spent the season on loan at Bundesliga club Werder Bremen.

Gradually, more World Cup squads and consequently, more Southampton players are expected to earn a coveted ticket to the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Scotland pick Ross Stewart and 2 former Saints for 2026 World Cup

This afternoon, Scotland has also followed suit. Head coach Steve Clarke has picked the Scotland 26-man squad that includes Ross Stewart and 2 former Southampton players.

Taking to X, the Scotland national team turned heads with their striker selections. Every Southampton fan admits that Ross Stewart has had a phenomenal campaign with 9 league goals and 2 crucial FA Cup strikes against Fulham and Arsenal.

To his credit, Stewart has successfully managed to shrug off the £10m Southampton flop tag next to his name and has come really handy for boss Tonda Eckert. Despite that, there was an air of doubt that Scotland would eventually leave the 29-year-old Saints striker for other forwards.

Well, surprise, surprise, Ross Stewart has made the cut in Scotland’s World Cup attack. And it’s even more astonishing that Stewart has kept Hull City’s topscorer Oli McBurnie out of the equation. The Hull City talisman has nearly double the amount of Championship goals than Stewart, but somehow Stewart rode his luck.

For someone who was sidelined for almost 2 years at Southampton due to injuries, perhaps it’s just fair justice for Ross Stewart.

With his inclusion, Ross Stewart will be a part of the Scotland squad scheduled to lock horns with Brazil, Haiti and Morocco in Group C. Can Ross Stewart add to his 2 Scotland caps and find a career first international goal at the 2026 World Cup, let’s see.

2 former Southampton players named in Scotland’s World Cup squad

As said above, Ross Stewart isn’t the only familiar face Southampton fans can find in the 26-man Scotland squad. Former Southampton goalkeeper Angus Gunn has also been picked in the goalkeeping department. Gunn left St. Mary’s on the back of a disastrous Premier League campaign in 2021, and now finds himself as a backup shot-stopper at Nottingham Forest.

As one can expect, Gunn had a quiet season at Nottingham with only 1 substitute appearance in a 1-1 Premier League draw against Crystal Palace. His national team reputation is still brilliant with 8 clean sheets out of 21 games. Scotland will be expected to prefer Craig Gordon and Liam Kelly instead in goal but never say never for Angus Gunn.

Accompanying Angus Gunn as a former Saint, is Che Adams. He won Premier League promotion with Southampton in 2024 at Wembley but immediately decided to look out for a move. He let his expiring St. Mary’s contract run out and joined Serie A club Torino on a free transfer.

Knowing how badly Southampton performed in attack the following Premier League season, it’s wise to admit that things would have been a bit better with Adams choosing to stay. Nevertheless, Adams doesn’t regret joining Torino where he has notched 17 goals and 7 assists over the course of two full seasons.

There is a slight possibility of Che Adams and Ross Stewart leading the line for Scotland together in the summer World Cup. Let’s wait to find out how all three of Stewart, Gunn and Adams fare in the showpiece tournament.