This is a list of players who have played international football for the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the t ...

and who were born outside

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. For the purposes of international football, the global governing body

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

considers

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

to be distinct and individual countries. This has happened since the early days of international football, as

Arthur Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird Arthur Fitzgerald Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird (16 February 1847 – 30 January 1923) was a British principal of The Football Association and a leading footballer, considered by some journalists as the first football star. He played in nine F ...

(born in England) and

Henry Renny-Tailyour Henry Waugh Renny-Tailyour (9 October 1849 – 15 June 1920) was a British amateur all-round sportsman who appeared for Scotland in some of the earliest international football and rugby union matches, remaining to this day the only player to have ...

represented Scotland in the 1870s. The first black international football player, Andrew Watson, was born in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

and represented Scotland during the 1880s. The majority of these players were born in England. In a friendly match against

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

in November 2011, five of the sixteen players used by Scotland were born in England. The rules of selection were quite strict until 1971, when national teams were allowed to pick players if one of their parents were born in that country. This was later relaxed to allowing selection for one grandparent being born in Scotland, although it was temporarily tightened again, which prevented

Nigel Spackman Nigel James Spackman (born 2 December 1960) is an English football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit. As a player he was as a midfielder from 1980 to 1998, notably for Liverpool, Chelsea and Rangers. He also p ...

from playing for Scotland. The

Home Nations Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...

have since made an agreement that also allows players who have been educated for at least five years in the relevant country to be selected by its national team.

Jordan Rhodes Jordan Luke Rhodes (born 5 February 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Championship club Huddersfield Town and the Scottish national team. He started his career at Ipswich Town and after loan spells at Oxf ...

was selected on this basis.

Australia

Lyndon Dykes Lyndon John Dykes (born 7 October 1995) is a footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Queens Park Rangers. Born and raised in Australia to Scottish parents, he represents the Scotland national team. Dykes previously played f ...

Willie Fraser William Patrick Fraser (born May 26, 1964) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and . Fraser played for the California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, St. ...

British Guiana

* Andrew Watson

Canada

* Eadie Fraser *

Joe Kennaway James T. Kennaway (25 January 1907 – 7 March 1969), commonly known as Joe Kennaway, was a dual international (Canada and Scotland) association football, football goalkeeper (football), goalkeeper. He began his career in Canada, spent four years ...

* John Little

England

Notes

Only played in England

A large number of Scottish internationals born in Scotland never played senior club football in that country, either due to the circumstances of their upbringing; for example

Alex Donaldson Alexander Pollock Donaldson (4 December 1890 – 1972) was a Scottish footballer, who played for numerous teams in England as well as the Scotland national team. An outside-forward, he stayed with Bolton Wanderers from 1912 to 1921, and also ...

, Jimmy Nelson (raised in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

rather than England, settled in Wales after playing for

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

Tommy Lawrence Thomas Johnstone Lawrence (14 May 1940 – 10 January 2018) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Liverpool and Tranmere Rovers from the 1950s to the 1970s. Lawrence was with Liverpool for 14 years, making more ...

Scot Gemmill Scot Gemmill (born 2 January 1971) is a Scottish football coach and former professional player, who is the head coach of the Scotland under-21 team. As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Nottingham Fore ...

Dominic Matteo Dominic Matteo (born 28 April 1974) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender and midfielder in a 17-year professional career from 1992 to 2009. He made a total of 366 league and cup appearances, of which 276 were i ...

, Richard Hughes and

Ikechi Anya Ikechi Anya (born 3 January 1988) is a Scottish former professional footballer. A versatile player, Anya was fielded in a number of positions, including winger, wing-back and full-back. He played for Wycombe Wanderers, Northampton Town, Wa ...

(who also played in the Spanish leagues), or being scouted by clubs in England at a young age and remaining in the

English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...

throughout their career; this includes several who reached the landmark of 25 caps such as

Billy Liddell William Beveridge Liddell (10 January 1922 – 3 July 2001) was a Scottish footballer, who played his entire professional career with Liverpool. He signed with the club as a teenager in 1938 and retired in 1961, having scored 228 goals in 534 ap ...

Denis Law Denis Law (born 24 February 1940) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchester City ...

Billy Bremner William John Bremner (9 December 1942 – 7 December 1997) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. Regarded as one of the game's great midfielders, he combined precision passing skills with tenacious tackling and physical stam ...

Willie Donachie William Donachie (born 5 October 1951) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Donachie had a long playing career, the majority of which was with Manchester City. He also played for Norwich City, Burnley, Oldham Athletic and Portland Timber ...

Asa Hartford Richard Asa Hartford (born 24 October 1950) is a Scottish former football player and coach. He started his professional career with West Bromwich Albion. His early progress led to a proposed transfer to Leeds United in November 1971, but this c ...

Frank Gray Francis Tierney Gray (born 27 October 1954) is a Scottish Association football, football manager (association football), manager and former player. He played for Leeds United F.C., Leeds United, Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest, Sunde ...

John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to: Politicians United Kingdom politicians * J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918 *John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926) ...

John Wark John Wark (born 4 August 1957) is a Scottish former footballer who spent most of his playing time with Ipswich Town. He won a record four Player of the Year awards before becoming one of the four inaugural members of the club's Hall of Fame. W ...

Colin Calderwood Colin Calderwood (born 20 January 1965) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is the assistant manager at Northampton Town. As a player, he was a centre-back who notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hots ...

Darren Fletcher Darren Barr Fletcher (born 1 February 1984) is a Scottish football coach and former professional player who is currently the technical director of Manchester United, where he spent the majority of his playing career. He mostly played as a cent ...

and

Grant Hanley Grant Campbell Hanley (born 20 November 1991) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Norwich City and the Scotland national team. He has previously played for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. Early years ...

. Conversely,

Joe Baker Joseph Henry Baker (17 July 1940 – 6 October 2003) was an England international footballer. Born in Woolton in Liverpool, England, he spent virtually his entire childhood growing up in Motherwell, Scotland. He is notable for being the first ...

had only played in the

Scottish football league system The Scottish football league system is a series of generally connected leagues for Scottish football clubs. The Scottish system is more complicated than many other national league systems, consisting of several completely separate systems or 'gra ...

when he was capped by his birthplace England in 1959 – he was the first player to be in that situation. His elder brother

Gerry Baker Gerard Austin "Gerry" Baker (11 April 1938 – 24 August 2013) was an American soccer player. From 1955 until 1970, he played 16 seasons in either the Scottish or English first division. He earned seven caps with the US national team in 196 ...

was also raised in Scotland but had been born in the United States and later appeared for their national team.

India

* Paul Wilson

Ireland

Willie Maley William Patrick Maley (25 April 1868 – 2 April 1958) was an Irish-born Scottish international football player and manager. He was the first manager of Celtic Football Club, and one of the most successful managers in Scottish football history. ...

Isle of Man

The

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

does not have an internationally recognised national team; the

Isle of Man Football Association The Isle of Man Football Association, also simply known as the Isle of Man FA or the IOMFA, is the body that co-ordinates and organises the sport of football on the Isle of Man. Although, as a Crown Dependency, the Isle of Man is not a part of th ...

is affiliated to the

English Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and ...

as a

County Football Association The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

. *

Kieran Tierney Kieran Tierney (born 5 June 1997) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-back or centre-back for Premier League club Arsenal and the Scotland national team. Tierney came through the Celtic youth system and made his first t ...

Malaysia

Shaun Maloney Shaun Richard Maloney (born 24 January 1983) is a Scottish football coach and former player. Maloney played for Celtic, Aston Villa, Wigan Athletic, Chicago Fire, Hull City and the Scotland national team as an attacking midfielder or winger. ...

South Africa

Alex Bell Alexander Bell (20 October 1882 – 30 November 1934) was a association football, footballer who played as a wing half. His professional career was mostly spent in England, where he won trophies with Manchester United F.C., Manchester United an ...

John Hewie John Davison Hewie (13 December 1927 – 11 May 2015) was a South African-born Scottish international footballer, who spent most of his career with Charlton Athletic. Playing career Hewie was born in Pretoria, South Africa, to Scottish emigrant ...

Sweden

Richard Gough Charles Richard Gough (born 5 April 1962) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Gough played in the successful Dundee United team of the early 1980s, winning the Scottish league title in 1982–83 and reachi ...

United States

Jimmy Walker James John Walker (June 19, 1881November 18, 1946), known colloquially as Beau James, was mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932. A flamboyant politician, he was a liberal Democrat and part of the powerful Tammany Hall machine. He was forced t ...

References

{{Association football players

Born outside Scotland Association football player non-biographical articles Scottish diaspora Immigration to Scotland