Scotland national under-19 football team

History

Until 2001, the European youth championship was competed for by under-18 teams. The best performance by a Scotland under-18 team was in 1982, when they won the tournament. Beating Czechoslovakia 3–1 in the final, the team was then managed by Andy Roxburgh and Walter Smith, who would both go on to manage the senior side. Scotland defeated rivals England in the qualifying round and finished top of Group 4, which also included the Netherlands. In the semi-finals, Scotland beat Poland 2–0. Scotland also reached the semi-finals of the 1978 tournament, where they lost on penalties to Yugoslavia. Scotland topped Group two – which included Germany and Italy – to qualify for the semi-final, having beaten Denmark in the qualifying round.

During the period of the under-19 format, Scotland qualified for the finals tournament in 2006 when, under the guidance of manager Archie Gemmill and coach Tommy Wilson, they lost 2–1 to Spain in the final. This performance guaranteed Scotland's participation at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly the World Youth Championships), representing their first appearance for 20 years.

Since 2006, Scotland have not progressed past the elite qualification round of the European under-19 tournaments.

Head Coaches

• Archie Gemmill (2005–2009)
• Billy Stark (2009–2012)
• Ricky Sbragia (2012–2015)
• Scot Gemmill (2015–2016)
• Ricky Sbragia (2016–2017)
• Donald Park (2017–2018)
• Billy Stark (2018–2024)
• Neil MacFarlane (2024–present)

Competitive record

UEFA European U-19 Championship Record

Champions Runners-up Third place / semi finals Fourth place Tournament held on home soil

Notes

• First qualifying round and Preliminary round are the same stage
• Elite round, Intermediary round and Second qualifying round are the same stage
• Draws also include penalty shootouts, regardless of the outcome.

Other tournaments

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2026 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification matches against Latvia, Lithuania and England on 12, 15 and 18 November 2025; respectively.

Caps and goals updated as of 18 November 2025, after the match against England.

Recent call-ups

The following players had also been called up within the last twelve months, and remain eligible for selection.

References

References

1. (29 July 2006). "Scotland U19 1-2 Spain U19". BBC Sport.
2. (26 July 2006). "Gemmill hails 'incredible' youths". BBC Sport.
3. (12 August 2015). "Ricky Sbragia is new Scotland Under-21 head coach". BBC Sport.
4. (7 September 2016). "Scotland U21: Coach Ricky Sbragia makes way for Scot Gemmill". BBC Sport.
5. (11 August 2017). "Donald Park named as Scotland Under-19 coach". Scottish Football Association.
6. (25 May 2018). "Billy Stark confirmed as national youth team coach". Scottish Football Association.
7. (2 April 2024). "Billy Stark set to retire from role as Scotland Men's Under-19 Head Coach". Scottish Football Association.
8. "Neil MacFarlane accepts Scotland U19 role".
9. "U-19 Tournament 2001 (Northern Ireland)".
10. "U-19 Mini-Tournament Northern Ireland 2005".
11. "U-17/U-19 Tournaments La Manga (Spain)".
12. (18 September 2015). "Scotland Under-19 squad confirmed for German tournament". Scottish FA.
13. (13 October 2015). "SORG: "I CAN SEE THE TEAM DEVELOPING"".
14. (1 September 2022). "Billy Stark selects Under-19 squad for Slovenia Nations Cup".
15. (5 November 2025). "Scotland Men's Under-19 squad confirmed for UEFA Euro 2026 qualifiers". Scottish FA.