# Scotland national football team results (unofficial matches)

* Scotland national football team results
* 1872–1914 (matches 1–113)
* 1920–39 (matches 114–188)
* 1940–59 (matches 189–274)
* 1960–79 (matches 275–432)
* 1980–99 (matches 433–611)
* 2000–19 (matches 612–783)
* 2020–present (matches 784–849)
* Unofficial matches
From 1870 to the present day, the Scotland national football team have played various matches that are not accorded the status of official (FIFA) internationals by the governing body, the Scottish Football Association. These include early matches against England prior to the first-ever official international in 1872, wartime fixtures between 1914–1919 and 1939–1946 when official competitions were suspended, overseas tour matches played by a Scotland XI of varying strength and status, and others as specified.
While some of the tour matches (involving players under consideration for the national team, some having already been capped at full level) could be seen as similar in status to those played by the Scotland B team, they have not been recorded officially as such.

## List of Matches
### 1870s–1910s
#### 1870–1872 England v Scotland matches

The selection of the Scottish XI were players drawn from living and working in and around London area. Some of the players' Scottish links were tenuous and in some cases non-existent.
Names of note included Alexander Morten, who played in the first match, Arnold Kirke-Smith, who played in two matches, and William Lindsay, who played in all five matches, of the Scotland representative team were all in fact later capped by the official England national team.
* ↑ F McLean (alternatively Maclean, McClew or McClean) of the Scotland XI was discovered to be a pseudonym for Frederick Chappell who had no Scottish connections. He was capped by England in the first official international.

#### 1880

In 1880, a Scottish tour of Canada and The United States was suggested. Several preparatory matches were played, mostly against club sides and including a mini-tour of northern England, with the potential traveling squad referred to as the 'Scotch Canadians'. However, the tour itself never went ahead after the death of its main organiser, SFA secretary William Dick. Four matches are detailed below:
A match was scheduled with Morton on May 22, but was cancelled because the Greenock Academy directors refused them permission to use Academy Park.
* ↑ Trial match for the Ayshire FA XI ahead of its match with Lancashire FA XI on February 28.

#### 1888

* ↑ Part of a Canadian tour of the United Kingdom, and coinciding with the 1888 International Exhibition in Glasgow.

#### 1891

* ↑ Warm-up prior to match against England, organised by Queen's Park officials. Played on same day as a Scotland v Wales fixture.
* ↑ Part of a tour of the United Kingdom, organised by the Western Football Association in Canada but also involving several players from the United States.

#### 1900

* A testimonial match for Everton's Scottish player Willie Muir in September 1900 was played between 'Englishmen' and 'Scotchmen' based at Merseyside clubs; the Scots won 2–1.

#### 1901

* An exhibition match with Germany was scheduled for 28 September 1901 as part of the Glasgow International Exhibition, but was cancelled due to a disagreement over funds; the visiting German team lost 12–0 to England's amateur team a few days earlier.

#### 1902

* ↑ This was scheduled as a full international and was the title decider in the 1901–02 British Home Championship. A capacity crowd was in attendance. During the first half, a new wooden stand collapsed, killing 25 and injuring 500. The match was played to a conclusion to mitigate any further crowd panic, but was not recorded as a full international fixture. The official match was replayed in England a month later.
* ↑ Benefit match for the 1902 Ibrox disaster relief fund - also coinciding with the Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra.
* A testimonial match for Liverpool's Scottish player William Goldie in November 1902 was played between an 'England Select XI ' and a 'Scotland Select XI' drawn from players at Merseyside clubs; the Scots won 4–0.

#### 1913

* A testimonial match for Rangers and Scotland winger Alec Smith was played in January 1913 between Rangers and an 'International XI' including the retired RS McColl, but this featured Wales international Billy Meredith.

#### 1914

* A testimonial match for Partick Thistle and Scotland player Alex Raisbeck was played in January 1914 between Partick and an 'International XI' team, but this included England international Jack Parkinson and several other players who had never played for Scotland.

### World War I

By the end of the first year of fighting during World War I, most official football tournaments were suspended (a notable exception was the Scottish Football League Division One). International matches took place very occasionally during the duration of the war itself (July 1914 to November 1918) with Scotland only playing two, both military benefit matches against England. Following the Allied victory, regular sports events began to return, and Scotland played in two Victory International matches against Ireland followed by two against England in Spring 1919. Established competitions and fully recognised international matches resumed in the 1919–20 season.

#### 1915

A fundraising match for the Belgian Refugee Relief Fund was played between an 'International XI' and an 'Edinburgh XI' in April 1915; the internationals included England's Joseph Hodkinson, Billy Meredith of Wales and William Crone who had played for the Irish League (Bobby Walker and Peter Nellies of Hearts also switched sides pre-match to cover for call-offs).
* ↑ Fundraising benefit match for the Sir Douglas Haig Base Hospitals. Jimmy McMullan played for England after squad members had to pull out at short notice.

### 1920s–1940s
#### 1920

* A Testimonial match for Partick Thistle and Scotland player Jimmy McMullan was played in April 1920 between Partick and an 'International Select' team.
* ↑ Benefit match for Rangers and Scotland player Jimmy Gordon. Match went ahead as scheduled despite the death of the club's manager William Wilton a day earlier.

#### 1921 Tour of USA and Canada

A Scotland XI tour of Canada and the USA was organised by Glasgow club Third Lanark and the Dominion of Canada Football Association. Some local publications of the time listed the visitors as 'Third Lanark', others as 'Scotland'.
* Squad:
* 25 matches were played, with 24 wins, 1 draw and 0 defeats. 1 match is detailed below:

#### 1923

* Third Lanark undertook another summer tour in 1923, this time to South America (eight matches), and again guest players from other clubs were invited, the most high-profile being Hughie Ferguson, but although apparently some attempt was made to portray this as a 'Scotland team', this was much less prevalent than for the 1921 tour and only one of the players had been capped at full level (Robert Orrock who played in one match ten years earlier).

#### 1927

* A testimonial match for Bradford City defender Willie Watson was played in April 1927 between Bradford and a 'Scottish Internationals' team, but this included Ireland international Bert Manderson and several other players who had never played for Scotland.

#### 1927 Tour of USA and Canada

A Scotland XI tour of North America was organised by the SFA in 1927.
* Squad:
* 20 matches were played, with 19 wins, 0 draws and 1 defeat. 3 matches are detailed below:

#### 1929

* ↑ This match was played two days after another in Bergen, a 7–3 win for Scotland which is considered official by the SFA but not by the Norwegian Football Federation. Neither body considers the 4–0 match to be official.
* A friendly match between Scotland and the Netherlands in June 1929 was retrospectively considered not to be official by the Royal Dutch Football Association due to their disapproval of professionalism in the sport–all the Scotland players were professionals. The SFA regards it as official.

#### 1932

* A friendly match in Copenhagen on 9 October 1932 in which Denmark defeated the Scotland amateur team 3–1 (James Paul scored the Scottish goal) is regarded as a full international by the Danish Football Union, and consequently has sometimes been included in overviews of matches between the nations.

#### 1935 Tour of USA and Canada

A Scotland XI tour of North America was organised by the SFA in 1935.
* Squad:
* ↑ McDonald was an Irish international who earned two caps between 1930–32.
* ↑ Wilson was of English nationality.
* 13 matches were played, with 13 wins, 0 draws and 0 defeats. 2 matches are detailed below:
* ↑ Playing as Eastern USA All-Stars.
* ↑ Regarded as a full international by the United States Soccer Federation.
* ↑ Playing as Eastern USA All-Stars.
* ↑ Playing as Eastern USA All-Stars.
* ↑ Regarded as a full international by the United States Soccer Federation.
* ↑ Playing as Eastern USA All-Stars.

#### 1935

* ↑ Selection of players with London-based clubs.
* ↑ Selection of 'Anglo-Scots' playing for English Football League clubs–the Scottish touring squad bound for North America sailed from Southampton on the same day.
* 1 2 King's Silver Jubilee Trust Fund International.
* ↑ Selection of players with London-based clubs.
* ↑ Selection of 'Anglo-Scots' playing for English Football League clubs–the Scottish touring squad bound for North America sailed from Southampton on the same day.

#### 1939 Tour of USA and Canada

A Scotland XI tour of North America was organised by the SFA in 1939.
* Squad:
* ↑ Ellis was a Welsh international who earned six caps between 1931–36.
* ↑ Lyon was of English nationality.
* 14 matches were played, with 13 wins, 1 draw and 0 defeats. 2 matches are detailed below:
* ↑ Playing as Eastern USA All-Stars.
* ↑ Playing as Eastern USA All-Stars.
* 1 2 Playing as American Soccer League Stars.

### World War II

Official football tournaments were suspended soon after the outbreak of World War II in Autumn 1939. International matches took place occasionally during the duration of the war itself, with Scotland playing against England 15 times, a team representing the Republic of Ireland once, and various branches of the British armed forces who could call on strong squads of professional players called into service. In addition, there were six 'Army Internationals' nominally between Scotland and England, but with the players selected from members of the military stationed in each country regardless of their heritage (the 'Army in England' team won five of these, with one draw).
When the conflict ended in May 1945 with an Allied victory, regular sports events began to return, and Scotland participated in, and won, the 1945–46 British Victory Home Championship. Two further Victory International matches in 1946 against Belgium and Switzerland are considered to have full international status. All established competitions and fully recognised international matches resumed in the 1946–47 season, the outset of which included one further unofficial England v Scotland match to raise funds for those affected by the Burnden Park disaster earlier that year.
* ↑ After two English players were injured in a traffic accident on their way to the match, two players from the local club Newcastle United who had been in the crowd as spectators appeared for England, including Tommy Pearson, a Scot who later also appeared for his native country.
* ↑ 'Representative XI' match organised between the Football Association of Ireland and the Glasgow FA, drawing Scotland's players from clubs in the city. Had some characteristics of an inter-league fixture (a contemporary highlights video makes reference to Scotland's 'revenge' for defeat the previous year, which was a win for the League of Ireland XI over the Scottish Football League XI in 1939) but documentation shows it was not organised as such.
* ↑ Stanley Matthews guested for Scotland.
* ↑ Stanley Matthews guested for Scotland.
* 1 2 3 4 An SFA-approved 'Scottish Services' team of serving Armed Forces personnel.

#### 1946

* ↑ Fundraising match for the Burnden Park disaster.

#### 1947

* On 10 May 1947, a Great Britain XI played a Europe XI at Hampden Park to commemorate the Home Nations rejoining FIFA. The GB team, which won the match 6–1 in front of over 130,000, wore the dark blue of Scotland to acknowledge the venue, but only three Scottish players were involved.

#### 1949 Tour of USA and Canada

A Scotland XI tour of North America was organised by the SFA in 1949.
* Squad:
* 9 matches were played, with 8 wins, 0 draws and 1 defeat. 3 matches are detailed below:
* ↑ Playing as American Soccer League Stars.
* ↑ Playing as American Soccer League Stars.
* ↑ Regarded as a full international by the United States Soccer Federation.

### 1950s–1970s
#### 1953

* ↑ Benefit match for Third Lanark and Scotland player Jimmy Mason.

#### 1955

* ↑ This was a trial preceding a scheduled 'B international' between Scotland and England due to be played in Glasgow a few weeks later, however that match was cancelled due to weather conditions.

#### 1956

* ↑ This was an 'Anglo-African' team of players from South Africa who were based at clubs in the United Kingdom, including two Rangers players, Johnny Hubbard and Don Kitchenbrand. As Scotland did not select any Rangers players, many of the crowd at Ibrox opted to cheer for South Africa on the night. It was a warm-up for Scotland's 1955–56 British Home Championship decider against England a few weeks later; reports indicated the most impressive player was South Africa's defender John Hewie, who was eligible for Scotland and made his debut in the England match, along with Scottish goalscorer Graham Leggat who had also played at Ibrox.
* ↑ This was an 'Anglo-African' team of players from South Africa who were based at clubs in the United Kingdom, including two Rangers players, Johnny Hubbard and Don Kitchenbrand. As Scotland did not select any Rangers players, many of the crowd at Ibrox opted to cheer for South Africa on the night. It was a warm-up for Scotland's 1955–56 British Home Championship decider against England a few weeks later; reports indicated the most impressive player was South Africa's defender John Hewie, who was eligible for Scotland and made his debut in the England match, along with Scottish goalscorer Graham Leggat who had also played at Ibrox.
* ↑ Belgrove F.C. exhibition match. Three Scots were involved: Allan Brown, Willie Cunningham and Tommy Docherty.

#### 1958

* 1 2 3 4 Warm-up match for the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
* ↑ This was an 'International Select' XI featuring ten Scottish internationals (136 caps between them) and Celtic player Bertie Peacock of Northern Ireland.
* ↑ Benefit match for Hibernian and Scotland player Lawrie Reilly. As he had retired through injury and was no longer registered as a player, Reilly was not permitted to feature for Hibs or the Scotland team.
* ↑ This was an 'International Select' XI featuring ten Scottish internationals (136 caps between them) and Celtic player Bertie Peacock of Northern Ireland.

#### 1963

* Scotland's friendly against Austria in 1963 was abandoned by the referee on 79 minutes due to violent play, particularly by the Austrians; however caps were awarded and it is recognised as a full international by FIFA.

#### 1964

* ↑ Posthumous benefit for John White, the Tottenham and Scotland player killed by lightning. Postponed from original date the previous day due to fog. Alan Gilzean's performance induced Tottenham to sign him from Dundee a short time later.

#### 1966

* ↑ Benefit match for Alex Dowdells, Celtic, Leicester City and Scotland trainer.

#### 1967 Tour

A Scotland XI tour of Israel, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Canada was organised by the SFA in 1967. In October 2021, the SFA announced that some of the tour matches (against Australia, Canada and Israel) would be reclassified as full internationals. This meant that some players who had not otherwise played for Scotland were belatedly awarded international caps, including Alex Ferguson.
Two further planned tour matches were scrapped, against a Chinese XI because of rioting in Hong Kong and a second match with Israel due to escalation of what became the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War.
* Squad:
* Nine matches were played during the tour, all of which were won. Following a reassessment by the SFA, five of the games are now classified as full internationals. Details of the other four matches are given below:

#### 1971

* ↑ Fundraising match for those affected by the 1971 Ibrox disaster. Also served as a warm-up for a Euro 72 qualifying match a week later. The 'Celtic/Rangers Select' also featured guest players George Best, Peter Bonetti, and Bobby Charlton, while Scotland selected two Rangers players and three from Celtic.

#### 1972

* Partick Thistle went on a tour of Southeast Asia in summer 1972, including matches against Selangor FA, an Indonesian XI and Lokomotiv Plovdiv of Bulgaria, which were falsely promoted as 'Scotland vs Malaysia / Indonesia / Bulgaria' by the local organisers to attract spectators, and large crowds did attend.

#### 1976

* ↑ Benefit match for Fulham and Tottenham player Alan Mullery. Due to call-offs, Scotland's squad included two Italian players and two English internationals (Terry Cooper and Norman Hunter).

#### 1977

* ↑ Benefit match for Coventry City player Mick Coop. Scotland's squad was largely players with Coventry connections.

#### 1978

* ↑ Benefit match for Rangers and Scotland player John Greig, also serving as a warm-up game for the upcoming 1978 FIFA World Cup; Scotland's squad was the World Cup pool.
* ↑ Warm-up game for the upcoming 1978 FIFA World Cup; Scotland's squad was the World Cup pool.
* ↑ Benefit match for Middlesbrough player Willie Maddren, also serving as a warm-up game for the upcoming 1978 FIFA World Cup; Scotland's squad was the World Cup pool.

### 1980s–present
#### 1982

* ↑ Testimonial for Partick Thistle and Scotland player Alan Rough.
* 1 2 Warm-up match ahead of the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

#### 1986

* A benefit match for former Scotland captain George Young was played in May 1986 between 'Young's XI' which contained several current internationals and wore the Scotland kit, and 'Don Revie's XI' which wore the England kit.
* 1 2 Warm-up match ahead of the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

#### 1990

* ↑ Match to commemorate the centenary of the Scottish Football League.

#### 1996

No caps were awarded to Scottish players who were on the field for the scheduled match against Estonia during 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification on 9 October 1996, when a scheduling dispute over floodlights led to Scotland turning up at an earlier time and kicking off against no opposition, while Estonia insisted on adhering to the original later time. All records for this fixture relate to the rearranged match played in Monaco on 11 February 1997.

#### 2002

* ↑ Squad examination played behind closed doors (no paying spectators).
* Caps were awarded by the SFA for a match in May 2002 between the Hong Kong League XI and Scotland as part of the HKSAR Reunification Cup, although it was not a full FIFA international.

#### 2004

* A friendly match on 3 September 2004 against Spain in Valencia was abandoned on 59 minutes due to floodlight failure; however caps were awarded and FIFA recognise it as a full international.