Scotland national under-21 football team

Scotland under-21
Association Scottish Football Association
Head coach Scot Gemmill[1]
Most caps Christian Dailly (35)[2]
Top scorer Scott Booth (8)[2]
Jordan Rhodes (8)[2]
First colours
Second colours
First international
Czech Republic Czechoslovakia 0 – 0 Scotland Scotland
12 October 1976
Biggest win
Scotland Scotland 5 – 0 Finland Finland
6 September 1995[3]
Biggest defeat
England England 6 – 0 Scotland Scotland
13 August 2013
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances 6 (first in 1980)
Best result Semi-finalists (1982, 1992, 1996)

The Scotland national under-21 football team, controlled by the Scottish Football Association, is Scotland's national under 21 football team and is considered to be a feeder team for the Scotland national football team.

As a European under-21 team, Scotland compete in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, which is usually held every other year. The team has qualified for the final stages of these Championships on six occasions, although not since 1996. There is no global tournament for under-21 national teams. Performance in the European Championship determines qualification for football at the Summer Olympics, which Scotland is unable to compete in.

History

Scotland played under-23 international matches, mainly friendlies against England and Wales, from 1955 until 1975.[4] Scotland first entered the UEFA competition for under-23 national teams in 1975–76. Scotland reached the quarter-finals, but were eliminated on a penalty shootout by the Netherlands. An under-21 team then came into existence, replacing the under-23 team, when UEFA reduced the age limit.[5]

Scotland under-21s have reached the last four of the European tournament three times (1982, 1992 and 1996), while appearing in the quarter finals on three other occasions (1980, 1984 and 1988). The team qualified for the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1996 Summer Olympics, but were unable to compete due to Scotland not being independently represented in the International Olympic Committee.[6] Similar to the full national side, however, the under-21 team has not qualified for a finals tournament since the late 1990s. The under-21 team reached the playoff round for the 2004 and 2011 tournaments, but lost to Croatia[7] and Iceland[8] respectively.

Results summary

Year Result GP W D* L GS GA
1976 Quarter Final[note 1] 6501134
1978 Did not qualify421154
1980 Quarter Final 7331147
1982 Semi Final 833296
1984 Quarter Final 85211410
1986 Did not qualify 411214
1988 Quarter Final 631274
1990 Did not qualify 6114713
1992 Semi Final 106221810
1994 Did not qualify 8224811
1996 Fourth place 128042110
1998 Did not qualify 102171020
2000 104241812
2002 622266
2004 8512118
2006 10136617
2007 200214
2009 8512176
2011 105231811
2013 8341169
2015 83231215
2017 10226817

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided by a penalty shootout.

Head coaches

Billy Stark, head coach of the team from 2008 to 2014.

Archie Knox left his post as Scotland's National Youth Teams Coach on 30 August 2007 to take up a full-time with Bolton Wanderers as coaching co-ordinator, Maurice Malpas took temporary charge. In January 2008 the SFA appointed a new full-time coach in Billy Stark, who left his job as manager of Second Division side Queen's Park to take the position.[9] Stark resigned from the position in November 2014.[10]

Tenure Head Coach/Manager
1975–1986 Andy Roxburgh
1986–1993 Craig Brown
1993–1998 Tommy Craig[11]
1998–2002 Alex Smith[11][12]
2002–2005 Rainer Bonhof[12][13]
2005–2006 Maurice Malpas (caretaker)[14]
2006–2007 Archie Knox[15]
2007–2008 Maurice Malpas (caretaker)[16]
2008–2014 Billy Stark[9][10]
2014–2015 Ricky Sbragia (caretaker)[10]
2015 Danny Lennon (caretaker)[17]
2015–2016 Ricky Sbragia[18]
2016–present Scot Gemmill[1]

Players

Leading appearances

Rank Player Club(s) Period U-21 Caps
1Christian DaillyDundee United 1990–199635
2Steven PressleyRangers, Coventry City, Dundee United1993–199627
3 Paul HanlonHibernian 2009–2012 23
=4 Craig EastonDundee United1997–2001 22
=4Gary NaysmithHeart of Midlothian 1996–1999 22
6Shaun MaloneyCeltic 2001–2005 21
=7Stuart ArmstrongDundee United 2010–2014 20
=7Jamie McCunnieDundee United, Ross County, Dunfermline Athletic 2001–2005 20
=9Stevie CrawfordRaith Rovers 1994–199619
=9 Ryan JackAberdeen 2011–201419
=9Mark WilsonDundee United, Celtic 2004–200619

Note: Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-21 team. Those players in bold are still eligible to play for the team at the moment.

Leading goalscorers

Rank Player Club(s) Period U-21 Goals
=1Scott BoothAberdeen 1990–1993 8
=1Jordan RhodesHuddersfield Town 2011–20128
=3Jamie MurphyMotherwell 2008–20106
=3Chris MaguireAberdeen 2008–2010 6
=3Jim HamiltonDundee, Heart of Midlothian 1995–1997 6
=3Mark BurchillCeltic 1998–2001 6
=7Gerry CreaneyCeltic 1990–1992 5
=7Christian DaillyDundee United1990–19965
=7Steven FletcherHibernian2006–20085
=7Simon LynchCeltic 2002–20035
=7Shaun MaloneyCeltic 2001–2005 5
=7Steven NaismithKilmarnock, Rangers 2005–2008 5
=7Steven Thompson Dundee United1997–19995
=7Tony Watt Celtic2012–20135

Note: Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s. Those players in bold are still eligible to play for the team at the moment.

Eligibility

The team is for players born in the year 21 years before the starting year of each tournament.[19] As each tournament normally takes two years to complete, players can continue to play for the under-21 team after their 22nd birthday.[19] For example, Theo Walcott (born March 1989) was eligible to play for England under-21s in the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.[19] As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, making it possible to play for the under-21s, senior side and then return to the under-21 side.[19] It is now also possible to play for one country at youth level and another country at senior level (providing the player is eligible).[5] For instance, Nigel Quashie played for England under-21s and Scotland.[5] Until the late 1980s, teams were allowed to select some over-age players in the under-21 team,[20][21][22] similar to the present arrangement in football at the Summer Olympics.[23]

Current squad

The following players were selected to play Slovakia in November 2016.[24]

As of 3 October 2016
0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Ross Doohan 0 0 Scotland Celtic
1GK Ryan Fulton (1996-05-23) 23 May 1996 1 0 England Chesterfield (on loan from Liverpool)
1GK Robbie Mutch 0 0 Scotland Arbroath (on loan from Aberdeen)
2DF Kyle Cameron (1997-01-15) 15 January 1997 1 0 Wales Newport County (on loan from Newcastle United)
2DF Alex Iacovitti (1997-09-02) 2 September 1997 1 0 England Mansfield Town (on loan from Nottingham Forest)
2DF Zak Jules (1997-02-17) 17 February 1997 1 0 England Reading
2DF Calum MacDonald 0 0 England Derby County
2DF Jake Sheppard (1997-05-30) 30 May 1997 0 0 England Reading
2DF Liam Smith (1996-04-10) 10 April 1996 1 0 Scotland Heart of Midlothian
2DF John Souttar (1996-09-25) 25 September 1996 6 0 Scotland Heart of Midlothian
3MF Chris Cadden (1996-09-19) 19 September 1996 1 0 Scotland Motherwell
3MF Greg Docherty (1996-09-10) 10 September 1996 1 0 Scotland Hamilton Academical
3MF Alan Forrest (1996-09-09) 9 September 1996 0 0 Scotland Ayr United
3MF Liam Henderson (1996-04-25) 25 April 1996 6 0 Scotland Celtic
3MF James Jones (1996-02-13) 13 February 1996 1 0 England Crewe Alexandra
3MF Aidan Nesbitt (1997-02-05) 5 February 1997 1 0 Scotland Greenock Morton (on loan from Celtic)
3MF Ruben Sammut (1997-09-26) 26 September 1997 1 0 England Chelsea
4FW Eamonn Brophy (1996-03-10) 10 March 1996 0 0 Scotland Hamilton Academical
4FW Ryan Hardie (1997-03-17) 17 March 1997 1 0 Scotland St Mirren (on loan from Rangers)
4FW Jai Quitongo (1997-09-14) 14 September 1997 0 0 Scotland Greenock Morton

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Scotland under-21 squad and remain eligible (current clubs shown).

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Mark Hurst (1995-10-21) 21 October 1995 0 0 Scotland St Johnstone  Iceland, 5 October 2016
GK Liam Kelly (1996-01-23) 23 January 1996 2 0 Scotland Livingston (on loan from Rangers)  Ukraine, 6 September 2016
DF Jordan McGhee (1996-07-24) 24 July 1996 20 0 England Middlesbrough (on loan from Heart of Midlothian)  Iceland, 5 October 2016
MF Liam Burt (1999-02-01) 1 February 1999 1 0 Scotland Rangers  Iceland, 5 October 2016
MF Craig Storie (1996-01-13) 13 January 1996 1 0 Scotland Aberdeen  Iceland, 5 October 2016
MF Stephen Mallan (1996-03-25) 25 March 1996 0 0 Scotland St. Mirren  Ukraine, 13 November 2015
FW Oliver McBurnie (1996-06-04) 4 June 1996 6 1 Wales Swansea City  Iceland, 5 October 2016
FW Craig Wighton (1997-07-27) 27 July 1997 1 0 Scotland Dundee  Iceland, 5 October 2016
FW Harry Cardwell (1996-10-28) 28 October 1996 1 0 England Reading   Switzerland, 18 November 2014

Past squads

Notes

  1. ↑ Under-23 competition.

References

  1. 1 2 "Scotland U21: Coach Ricky Sbragia makes way for Scot Gemmill". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Alltime Player Records". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "Alltime Club Records". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  4. ↑ "Results List". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Abrahall, Csaba (January 2007). "Age of ascent". When Saturday Comes. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  6. ↑ Gibbons, Glenn (5 February 2009). "Craig Brown battles to preserve Scottish football rights by opposing Team GB". The Scotsman. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  7. ↑ "Bonhof hails defeated Scots". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 November 2003. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  8. ↑ "Coach Billy Stark proud of Scotland U21s development". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Billy Stark". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 "Scotland: Billy Stark 'steps down' as under-21 coach". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  11. 1 2 "Football: Smith protects his youngsters". The Independent. 14 October 1998. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Bonhof for Scotland job". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 July 2002. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  13. ↑ "Bonhof chose to leave Scots U-21s". BBC Sport. BBC. 26 November 2005. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  14. ↑ "Malpas is the new Motherwell boss". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  15. ↑ "Knox lands Scotland under-21 role". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 July 2006. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  16. ↑ "Malpas considering career change". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  17. ↑ "Danny Lennon in temporary charge of Scotland under-21s". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  18. ↑ "Ricky Sbragia is new Scotland Under-21 head coach". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Samuel, Martin (28 March 2011). "England must take on clubs and ensure young Lions are in it to win it". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  20. ↑ Paul, Ian (20 January 1984). "Scotland to warm up against France". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  21. ↑ Reynolds, Jim (6 February 1980). "Archibald is only over-age player in Stein's squad". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  22. ↑ Traynor, Jim (7 March 1989). "Young ones take on French mantle". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  23. ↑ "UEFA defends decision to keep over-age stars out of Olympics". The Argus Press. 3 February 1996. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  24. ↑ "Scotland Under-21s: Morton winger Jai Quitongo given first call-up". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.