It was an obvious one, really. After celebrating Scotland making it to Euro 2024 by counting down the top 50 players to have played for the international side in the previous 50 years, how should The Scotsman mark their return to a World Cup after so long?
Well, goals win matches – and they certainly did on the night Scotland qualified against Denmark. Needing a win to ensure their automatic qualification, Scotland came up with three of the best goals they have ever scored in the 4-2 win.
At the time of writing, Scotland have scored 1443 goals in 848 games. The original plan was to come up with a top 25 – just under three per cent of the total scored. The crème de la crème. It was the best homework assignment ever.
To keep things slightly more modern and increase the chance of finding footage on YouTube, we set a slightly arbitrary time limit of 1973 - the year before Scotland returned to a World Cup for the first time since 1958.
It also happens to be this writer’s lifetime. This meant Joe Jordan’s glorious header v Czechoslovakia to seal qualification could be considered. Did it make it? Mibbes eyes, mibbes naw.
To aid credibility, former Scotland international Pat Nevin was recruited to sift through goal after goal. It also helps when discussing moments of genius such as Mo Johnston’s acrobatic overhead kick against Cyprus in 1989 if someone contributing to the conversation can say, ‘Oh yes, I crossed the ball in for that one’.
It’s also advantageous if this self-same expert is one of the candidates in the mix for scoring one of Scotland’s greatest goals.
Indeed, a couple of Pat’s five goals for Scotland made the long list, including the well-struck – he calls it a top-poke, yes another one of those – effort from the edge of the box into the top corner in a pre-Euro ’92 friendly against the USA. It was further distinguished by later featuring in the Mike Myers film So I Married An Axe Murderer.
Not even this was enough to ensure that it made the cut though I suspect it was self-deprecation on Pat’s part as much as anything that saw the goal discarded when it came to the final 25. And that’s what we are left with: a final 25 since 1973.
It isn’t the definitive list and it’s not even the list we might come up with today were we to sit down together again.
As per his musical tastes, Pat is apt to come up with left-field choices. Definitely one of them comes under that description. See if you can work it out. And even one of the top 5 is not necessarily what you would expect it to be. At least it’s not the one you would necessarily pick as being the goalscorer-in-question’s best.
But isn’t that all part of the fun.
21. No 5 - Kenny McLean v Denmark 18/11/25
Not even Pele scored from the halfway line – his memorable effort in the 1970 World Cup for Brazil against Czechoslovakia bounced just wide. More reason to salute this mighty effort that put the seal on a famous victory. Was it the best goal of the night? Possibly not. But it was from farthest away. McLean – still in his own half - placed a pinch of dynamite on the toe of his left boot and got his angles right before watching as the ball sailed over Kasper Schmeichel’s head. | SNS Group
22. No 4 - James McFadden v Macedonia 5/9/2009
Not the McFadden goal you expected, right? There were a few to pick from but this one has all the McFadden marks of quality: impudence, skill and athleticism as he picks the ball up in his own half, goes round one Macedonian defender, nutmegs another as he leaves two opponents standing like dummies in the middle of the park before sending the keeper for the messages with a last glorious feint in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602
23. No 3 - Kenny Dalglish v Belgium 15/12/82
When director Asif Kapadia produced his recent documentary on Dalglish, this was the Scotland goal picked to relay his impact on the international arena. It is certainly one out of the player’s very top drawer and won BBC goal of the season. Dalglish picks up a pass down the line from Liverpool teammate Graeme Souness, turns inside one defender, jinks past another and then curls a delicious shot with his left foot into the top corner from a tight angle. Scotland might have lost this Euros qualifier but no one remembers that. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602
24. No 2 - Archie Gemmill v the Netherlands 11/6/78
Sorry, Archie, time’s up. But you’re still the scorer of Scotland’s second greatest goal of modern times having enjoyed the status of scorer of Scotland’s greatest goal since that June evening in Mendoza in 1978 until 18 November 2025. We all know how he did it – three Dutch players, including future Celtic manager Wim Jansen, left trailing the little midfielder’s wake before he dinks the Adidas Tango Durlast ball over the keeper for instant immortality and a later reference in Trainspotting. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602