A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Association | Scottish Football Association | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Scot Gemmill[1] | ||
| Most caps | Christian Dailly (35)[2] | ||
| Top scorer | Fraser Hornby (10)[3] | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Czechoslovakia 0 – 0 Scotland  12 October 1976 | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 San Marino 0 – 7 Scotland 13 October 2020[3] | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 England 6 – 0 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 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] The under-21 team has not qualified for a finals tournament since the late 1990s. They reached the playoff round for the 2004 and 2011 tournaments, but lost to Croatia[7] and Iceland[8] respectively.
In 2018, an under-21 squad returned to the Toulon Tournament.[9] Despite the loss to Turkey in a penalty-out for third-place.[10] Scotland did receive the tournament Fair Play Award.[11]
Competitive record
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Tournament held on home soil
UEFA European U-21 Championship Record
| Year | Result | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1976[a] |
Quarter-finals | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 4 |
| 1978 |
did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| 1980 |
Quarter-finals | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 7 |
| 1982 |
Semi-finals | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 6 |
| 1984 |
Quarter-finals | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 10 |
| 1986 |
did not qualify | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 1988 |
Quarter-finals | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| 1990 |
did not qualify | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 13 |
| 1992 |
Semi-finals | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 10 |
 1994 |
did not qualify | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 |
 1996 |
Fourth-place | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 10 |
 1998 |
did not qualify | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 20 |
 2000 |
10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 12 | |
 2002 |
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | |
 2004 |
8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | |
 2006 |
10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 17 | |
 2007 |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
 2009 |
8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 6 | |
 2011 |
10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 11 | |
 2013 |
8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 9 | |
| 2015 |
8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 15 | |
 2017 |
10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 17 | |
 2019 |
10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 13 | |
 2021 |
10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 5 | |
 2023 |
8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided by a penalty shootout.
Other tournaments
| Year | Competition | Result | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 |
Toulon Tournament | 6th place | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | [12] |
| 1991 |
Toulon Tournament | Group Stage | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | [13] |
| 1992 |
Toulon Tournament | Group Stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | [14] |
| 1993 |
Toulon Tournament | Semi-finals | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | [15] |
| 1994 |
Toulon Tournament | Group Stage | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | [16] |
| 1995 |
Toulon Tournament | Semi-finals | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | [17] |
| 1997 |
Toulon Tournament | Group Stage | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | [18] |
| 1999 |
Three Nations Tournament | 1st place | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | [19] |
 2000 |
Three Nations Tournament | 1st place | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | [20][21] |
| 2018 |
Toulon Tournament | 4th place | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | [22] |
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided by a penalty shootout.
Head coaches
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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.[23] Stark resigned from the position in November 2014.[24]
| Tenure | Head Coach/Manager |
|---|---|
| 1975–1982 | Andy Roxburgh |
| 1982–1986 | Walter Smith |
| 1986–1993 | Craig Brown |
| 1993–1998 | Tommy Craig[25] |
| 1998–2002 | Alex Smith[25][26] |
| 2002–2005 | Rainer Bonhof[26][27] |
| 2005–2006 | Maurice Malpas (caretaker)[28] |
| 2006–2007 | Archie Knox[29] |
| 2007–2008 | Maurice Malpas (caretaker)[30] |
| 2008–2014 | Billy Stark[23][24] |
| 2014–2015 | Ricky Sbragia (caretaker)[24] |
| 2015 | Danny Lennon (caretaker)[31] |
| 2015–2016 | Ricky Sbragia[32] |
| 2016–present | Scot Gemmill[1] |
Players
Leading appearances
- As of match played 5 June 2022[33]
| Rank | Name | Years | Clubs | Appearances | Goals | GPG Ratio. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian Dailly | 1990–1996 | Dundee United | 35 | 5 | 0.14 |
| 2 | Steven Pressley | 1993–1996 | Rangers, Coventry City, Dundee United | 27 | 1 | 0.04 |
| 3 | Allan Campbell | 2017–2020 | Motherwell | 24 | 1 | 0.04 |
| 4 | Paul Hanlon | 2009–2012 | Hibernian | 23 | 3 | 0.13 |
| 5 | Craig Easton | 1997–2001 | Dundee United | 22 | 2 | 0.09 |
| 5 | Gary Naysmith | 1996–1999 | Heart of Midlothian | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Glenn Middleton | 2018–2022 | Rangers | 22 | 5 | 0.23 |
| 8 | Shaun Maloney | 2001–2005 | Celtic | 21 | 5 | 0.24 |
| 9 | Stuart Armstrong | 2010–2014 | Dundee United | 20 | 4 | 0.2 |
| 9 | Jamie McCunnie | 2001–2005 | Dundee United, Ross County, Dunfermline Athletic | 20 | 1 | 0.05 |
| 9 | Jordan McGhee | 2001–2005 | Heart of Midlothian | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Ross McCrorie | 2016–2020 | Rangers, Portsmouth, Aberdeen | 20 | 1 | 0.05 |
Note: Club(s) represents the clubs the player was with while he played for the Scotland under-21 team. Those players in bold are eligible to play for the team now.
Leading goalscorers
- As of match played 5 June 2022[33]