After yesterday’s 4-1 friendly victory over Curacao, the Scotland World Cup squad has seen a change in midfield, as the injured Billy Gilmour is replaced by 19-year-old Tyler Fletcher.
The son of former Scotland international Darren Fletcher, the Manchester United teenager made his debut for the Tartan Army in the friendly win, coming on as a second-half substitute.
His inclusion in the Scotland World Cup squad comes after an unfortunate injury to Billy Gilmour in the first half of the Curacao game, which was later revealed as a knee injury that would rule the Napoli midfielder out of the tournament.
The Manchester United youngster, who made the switch from the blue side of Manchester to the red side in 2023 alongside his twin brother Jack, who, unlike his brother, has decided to represent England.
With players like Hearts duo James Wilson and Liam McFarlane, Dundee defender Luke Graham, Rangers’ Connor Barron, Andy Irving of Sparta Prague and Lennon Miller of Udinese all mentioned on the standby list, Scotland head coach Steve Clarke has given the nod to the youngster.
Scotland World Cup Squad: Fletcher Given The Nod For The World Cup
Making his debut in the friendly victory over Curacao, Tyler Fletcher was able to give Scotland boss Steve Clarke food for thought after his second-half cameo.
The Manchester United youngster, who has made two substitute appearances for the Red Devils, totalling 17 minutes, is the shock inclusion in the Scotland World Cup squad following Billy Gilmour’s injury.
The Red Devils’ under-21 midfielder has played over 70 times for the under-18s, under-19s and under-21s since his move from Manchester City in 2023.
Even with the limited opportunities in the Red Devils’ senior squad, Steve Clarke was highly impressed by the 19-year-old’s display in the second half of the Curacao win.
He said:
“Everybody was impressed – the players were impressed, the coaching staff were impressed, I had no doubts.
“I actually thought about putting him on as Billy [Gilmour] came off, but I just thought I’d have a little look, see how the game panned out before introducing him at half-time.”
Tyler Fletcher may not have the experience in senior football as of yet, but his youthfulness and energy will give Scotland’s stacked midfield another huge boost.
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Scotland’s World Cup Squad: Gilmour A Huge Miss For The Tartan Army
Billy Gilmour has been a key player for Scotland ever since his breakthrough onto the scene in 2017.
The diminutive midfielder rose through the ranks for the Tartan Army youth teams as well as the Chelsea youth teams and made his debut for the senior Scotland team in May 2021.
Since that moment, Gilmour has made almost 50 appearances for Scotland and was set to be a key player for the Tartan Army at the upcoming World Cup.
With only 17 league appearances in the Serie A this season, with seven of those being from the first minute, match sharpness and fitness were all the underlying factors that could be holding him back.
During the 2025/26 season, he was sidelined for a total of 126 days, and this was his third separate injury of the campaign and the most unfortunate one.
The season before this one, he avoided sustaining an injury for only the second time in his professional career and looked to be gaining some traction by getting regular minutes for Napoli.
However, with injury issues throughout the campaign that has just gone, he was always going to be a risk, and unfortunately, Gilmour’s third injury of the season ruled him out of the Scotland World Cup squad.
The Napoli midfielder has returned to his club side to start his rehabilitation ahead of the new season, but it will certainly be a bitter pill to swallow for the Chelsea Academy graduate.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Alex Todd
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