
Craig Gordon
Squad number 21 · Heart of Midlothian
Their 2026 World Cup
Craig Gordon travelled to the 2026 World Cup with Scotland, wearing number 21, without ever getting on the pitch. His side played 3 matches (1 win and 2 defeats) and bowed out in the group stage (Group C), beaten by Brazil 3-0.
The goalkeeping job went to A. Gunn (3 matches, 270′).
Another 5 players in the Scotland squad ended up the same way, without a single minute. The full run is on the Scotland team page.

Biography
Craig Sinclair Gordon (born 31 December 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Gordon started his career with Currie Boys before joining Heart of Midlothian. He spent time on loan at Cowdenbeath (in 2001–02), before establishing himself as Hearts' first-choice keeper between 2003 and 2007, winning the Scottish Cup in 2005–06. English Premier League club Sunderland bought him in 2007 for £9 million (then the British transfer record fee for a goalkeeper). Gordon suffered serious injuries during his time with Sunderland and was released from his contract in 2012. After two years out of the game, Gordon signed for Celtic in July 2014. He won five Scottish league titles, two Scottish Cups and four Scottish League Cups with Celtic, including domestic trebles in 2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19. He left Celtic and returned to Hearts in June 2020. Gordon was the regular goalkeeper for the Scotland national football team between 2004 and 2010, before injuries interrupted his career, and returned to the national set-up in 2014.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · text adapted from the article.
See all the tournament stats on the World Cup data hub.
Photo: Bryan Berlin · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)