![Scotland national football team results (unofficial matches) Scotland national football team results (unofficial matches)](/modules/owlapps_apps/img/errorimg.png)
From 1870 to the present day, the Scotland national football team have played various matches that are not accorded the status of official (FIFA) internationals by the governing body, the Scottish Football Association. These include early matches against England prior to the first-ever official international in 1872, wartime fixtures between 1914–1919 and 1939–1946 when official competitions were suspended, overseas tour matches played by a Scotland XI of varying strength and status, and others as specified.
While some of the tour matches (involving players under consideration for the national team, some having already been capped at full level) could be seen as similar in status to those played by the Scotland B team, they have not been recorded officially as such.
The selection of the Scottish XI were players drawn from living and working in and around London area. Some of the players' Scottish links were tenuous and in some cases non-existent.
Names of note included Alexander Morten, who played in the first match, Arnold Kirke-Smith, who played in two matches, and William Lindsay, who played in all five matches, of the Scotland representative team were all in fact later capped by the official England national team.
In 1880, a Scottish tour of Canada and The United States was suggested. Several preparatory matches were played, mostly against club sides and including a mini-tour of northern England, with the potential traveling squad referred to as the 'Scotch Canadians'. However, the tour itself never went ahead after the death of its main organiser, SFA secretary William Dick. Four matches are detailed below:
A match was scheduled with Morton on May 22, but was cancelled because the Greenock Academy directors refused them permission to use Academy Park.
By the end of the first year of fighting during World War I, most official football tournaments were suspended (a notable exception was the Scottish Football League Division One). International matches took place very occasionally during the duration of the war itself (July 1914 to November 1918) with Scotland only playing two, both military benefit matches against England. Following the Allied victory, regular sports events began to return, and Scotland played in two Victory International matches against Ireland followed by two against England in Spring 1919. Established competitions and fully recognised international matches resumed in the 1919–20 season.
A fundraising match for the Belgian Refugee Relief Fund was played between an 'International XI' and an 'Edinburgh XI' in April 1915; the internationals included England's Joseph Hodkinson, Billy Meredith of Wales and William Crone who had played for the Irish League (Bobby Walker and Peter Nellies of Hearts also switched sides pre-match to cover for call-offs).
A Scotland XI tour of Canada and the USA was organised by Glasgow club Third Lanark and the Dominion of Canada Football Association. Some local publications of the time listed the visitors as 'Third Lanark', others as 'Scotland'.
A Scotland XI tour of North America was organised by the SFA in 1927.
A Scotland XI tour of North America was organised by the SFA in 1935.
A Scotland XI tour of North America was organised by the SFA in 1939.
Official football tournaments were suspended soon after the outbreak of World War II in Autumn 1939. International matches took place occasionally during the duration of the war itself, with Scotland playing against England 15 times, a team representing the Republic of Ireland once, and various branches of the British armed forces who could call on strong squads of professional players called into service. In addition, there were six 'Army Internationals' nominally between Scotland and England, but with the players selected from members of the military stationed in each country regardless of their heritage (the 'Army in England' team won five of these, with one draw).
When the conflict ended in May 1945 with an Allied victory, regular sports events began to return, and Scotland participated in, and won, the 1945–46 British Victory Home Championship. Two further Victory International matches in 1946 against Belgium and Switzerland are considered to have full international status. All established competitions and fully recognised international matches resumed in the 1946–47 season, the outset of which included one further unofficial England v Scotland match to raise funds for those affected by the Burnden Park disaster earlier that year.
A Scotland XI tour of North America was organised by the SFA in 1949.
A Scotland XI tour of Israel, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Canada was organised by the SFA in 1967. In October 2021, the SFA announced that some of the tour matches (against Australia, Canada and Israel) would be reclassified as full internationals. This meant that some players who had not otherwise played for Scotland were belatedly awarded international caps, including Alex Ferguson.
There was a match with a Chinese XI on 22 May, which was cancelled because of rioting in Hong Kong.
No caps were awarded to Scottish players who were on the field for the scheduled match against Estonia during 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification on 9 October 1996, when a scheduling dispute over floodlights led to Scotland turning up at an earlier time and kicking off against no opposition, while Estonia insisted on adhering to the original later time. All records for this fixture relate to the rearranged match played in Monaco on 11 February 1997.
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