# Progression of Scotland association football goalscoring record

This is a progressive list of football players who have held or co-held the record for goals scored for the Scotland national football team. The list begins with Henry Renny-Tailyour and William Gibb, who both scored in the 4–2 defeat by England in March 1873. The first official international game, contested by the same teams in November 1872, had finished goalless. The record is shared by Denis Law and Kenny Dalglish, with 30 goals each.

## Criteria

For the early decades, records of players appearances and goals were often considered unreliable. RSSSF and IFFHS have spent much effort trying to produce definitive lists of full international matches, and corresponding data on players' international caps and goals. Using this data, the following records can be retrospectively produced. Note that, at the time, these records may not have been recognised.

## Record

| Player | Goals | Date | Opponent | Score | Notes |
| Henry Renny-Tailyour | 1 | 8 Mar 1873 | England | 2–4 | |
| William Gibb | 1 | 8 Mar 1873 | England | 2–4 | |
| Angus MacKinnon | 1 | 7 Mar 1874 | England | 2–1 | |
| Frederick Anderson | 1 | 7 Mar 1874 | England | 2–1 | |
| Henry McNeil | 1 | 6 Mar 1875 | England | 2–2 | |
| Peter Andrews | 1 | 6 Mar 1875 | England | 2–2 | |
| Henry McNeil | 2 | 4 Mar 1876 | England | 3–0 | |
| Henry McNeil | 3 | 25 Mar 1876 | Wales | 4–0 | |
| John Ferguson | 3 | 3 Mar 1877 | England | 3–1 | Ferguson scored two goals in this match to equal McNeil. |
| Henry McNeil | 5 | 2 Mar 1878 | England | 7–2 | McNeil scored two goals in this match. |
| John Ferguson | 5 | 23 Mar 1878 | Wales | 9–0 | Ferguson scored two goals in this match to equal McNeil. |
| Billy MacKinnon | 5 | 5 Apr 1879 | England | 4–5 | MacKinnon scored two goals in this match to equal Ferguson and McNeil. |
| John Smith | 6 | 12 Mar 1881 | England | 6–1 | Smith scored a hat-trick in this match to overtake Ferguson, MacKinnon and McNeil. |
| George Ker | 7 | 14 Mar 1881 | Wales | 5–1 | Ker scored two goals in this match to overtake Smith. |
| George Ker | 9 | 11 Mar 1882 | England | 5–1 | Ker scored two goals in this match. |
| George Ker | 10 | 25 Mar 1882 | Wales | 5–0 | |
| John Smith | 10 | 15 Mar 1884 | England | 1–0 | Jointly with Ker. |
| Robert Smyth McColl | 10 | 25 Mar 1899 | Ireland | 9–1 | McColl scored a hat-trick in this match to equal Ker and Smith. |
| Robert Smyth McColl | 13 | 7 Apr 1900 | England | 4–1 | McColl scored a hat-trick in this match. |
| Robert Hamilton | 13 | 26 Mar 1904 | Ireland | 1–1 | Jointly with McColl. |
| Robert Hamilton | 15 | 6 Mar 1911 | Wales | 2–2 | Hamilton scored two goals in this match. |
| Hughie Gallacher | 18 | 23 Feb 1929 | Ireland | 7–3 | Gallacher scored five goals in this match to overtake Hamilton. |
| Hughie Gallacher | 20 | 26 Oct 1929 | Wales | 4–2 | Gallacher scored two goals in this match. |
| Hughie Gallacher | 22 | 22 Feb 1930 | Ireland | 3–1 | Gallacher scored two goals in this match. |
| Hughie Gallacher | 24 | 18 May 1930 | France | 2–0 | Gallacher scored two goals in this match. |
| Denis Law | 24 | 23 May 1965 | Poland | 1–1 | Jointly with Gallacher. |
| Denis Law | 25 | 2 Apr 1966 | England | 3–4 | |
| Denis Law | 26 | 22 Oct 1966 | Wales | 1–1 | |
| Denis Law | 27 | 15 Apr 1967 | England | 3–2 | |
| Denis Law | 28 | 6 Nov 1968 | Austria | 2–1 | |
| Denis Law | 29 | 26 Apr 1972 | Peru | 2–0 | |
| Denis Law | 30 | 20 May 1972 | Northern Ireland | 2–0 | |
| Kenny Dalglish | 30 | 14 Nov 1984 | Spain | 3–1 | Jointly with Law. |