A Celtic Summer Like No Other: The Hoops Players Heading to the World Cup

With Scotland at their first World Cup since 1998, Celtic’s contribution to the Tartan Army’s squad in North America is deeper than it has been in a generation.

There are summers when Celtic Park feels like the centre of the football universe, and this is shaping up to be one of them. A new manager on the way, a Champions League campaign to plan, and now, for the first time since France 1998, a World Cup to follow with genuine, invested interest. Scotland are going to the United States, Canada, and Mexico this June and July, and the Celtic thread running through Steve Clarke’s squad is as significant as it has been at any major tournament in recent memory.

This is not a summer to watch from a distance. For supporters at Celtic Park, there are players they have watched week in and week out who will be carrying the nation’s hopes in Boston and Miami. That changes the texture of a tournament entirely.

The Celtic Core in Clarke’s Squad

Kieran Tierney and Anthony Ralston were in every World Cup qualifying squad, and both are all but certain to be on the plane. Tierney, now 28, has been one of the defining figures of the qualification campaign. He scored in the 4-2 win that secured Scotland’s passage to the tournament, with his 93rd-minute strike one of the defining moments of a dramatic Hampden night. His versatility — the ability to play as a traditional left-back, slot into a back three, or push forward as a wing-back — makes him one of the most tactically valuable members of the entire squad, not just the Celtic contingent.

Ralston’s place is perhaps less nailed down than Tierney’s, but Clarke has shown consistent faith in him throughout. The manager retained that faith through the qualifying campaign and into the most recent squad, despite competition from other options at right-back. Ralston’s value is not built on moments of individual brilliance. It is built on reliability, positional discipline, and the kind of defensive composure that tournament football demands when the margins are thin and the stakes are highest.

One supporter, speaking to Freebets.com, one of the UK’s most widely consulted independent resources for FIFA World Cup betting odds said: “The World Cup feels different this year because we actually have skin in the game. Tierney at a World Cup in hoops colours is something Celtic fans have been waiting a long time to see. That qualifier against Denmark, McTominay’s overhead kick in the third minute, it is already one of the great Scotland nights.”

The Midfield Picture and What It Means for Scotland

The strongest part of the Scotland team, on paper, is the midfield. Scott McTominay elevated his icon status even further with the outrageous overhead kick opener against Denmark, and John McGinn is another talismanic figure whose experience and reading of the game will be central to Clarke’s setup. 

Billy Gilmour and Lennon Miller both missed the March camp through injury but returned to the most recent squad, giving Clarke real depth in the centre of the park. Gilmour in particular, has matured into one of the most technically assured midfielders in the squad, and his ability to control tempo will be vital in games where Scotland need to manage possession against superior opposition. Miller, still only young, represents the kind of energetic option from the bench that can change a game in the final twenty minutes.

It is also worth acknowledging what Scotland’s midfield has lost. Callum McGregor retired from international football in August 2024 after 63 caps, having been the disciplined engine behind so much of what Clarke built over the previous decade. When asked about a potential return following Scotland’s World Cup qualification, McGregor was clear that it was not something he had considered, preferring to focus entirely on his role at Celtic. His influence on the squad’s culture and collective identity will be felt even in his absence. The players who step into that midfield in North America will do so partly on the foundations he helped lay. 

The Wider Celtic Contingent

Ryan Christie represents the creative option who can unlock tight games with a moment of invention, while Ben Doak could feature if he returns to fitness in time. Both carry the Celtic connection in different ways. Christie is a former Bhoy whose development at Parkhead shaped everything he has become as a player. Doak left Celtic as a teenager for Liverpool but the foundation was laid in Glasgow, and the quality that turned heads at Paradise is precisely what Clarke will be hoping to call on if needed. 

Jack Hendry has matured significantly since leaving Celtic and now brings composure and experience to Clarke’s back line, while Ross Doohan’s place in the wider goalkeeper conversation reflects just how deeply Celtic’s influence runs through this squad at every position and level. 

Daizen Maeda will represent Japan, meaning Celtic’s footprint extends across multiple squads in North America this summer. 

On the Belgium front, Arne Engels has gone without a cap for 18 months, making his chances of featuring in Rudi Garcia’s squad slim despite Belgium having qualified. The 22-year-old has shown enough in flashes to suggest the quality is there, but competition for places in the Belgian midfield is fierce, and the window is narrowing.

What This Summer Means

Scotland’s group is demanding. They face Haiti on June 14 in Boston, Morocco on June 19 in Boston, and Brazil on June 24 in Miami. There is no gentle introduction. Clarke’s side will need to be organised, disciplined, and capable of producing something special when the occasion demands it. 

The Celtic players at the core of the squad give Scotland a recognisable, trusted foundation. Tierney’s defensive intelligence. Ralston’s consistency. The former Bhoys scattered through the attacking and midfield lines. These are not players who will be overawed. They have played Champions League football, handled Old Firm pressure, and delivered on the nights when domestic expectation reached fever pitch. A World Cup group stage against formidable but beatable opposition is the next test.

For Celtic supporters, this summer carries a specific kind of anticipation that has been absent for far too long. The Tartan Army in North America, built substantially around a Parkhead core, represents the values that define this club on the biggest stage in football. It has been 28 years since the last time. That wait is almost over.