Lawrence Shankland and Andy Robertson share a unique bond. Thirteen years ago, they were teammates at Queen's Park, playing in Scotland's fourth tier. They contested the play-offs for promotion to the third tier, losing 1-0 at home and 3-1 away to Peterhead in front of just 954 spectators. Thirteen years later, both are integral to Scotland's World Cup squad.
Shankland's path to the World Cup was not straightforward. Before Euro 2024, in March 2024, he played a friendly against the Netherlands. Steven Naismith, then his manager at Hearts and now Scotland's assistant manager, recalled Shankland as hesitant: "He was passing to Scott McTominay when he should have been taking shots." Naismith recognised uncertainty, not lack of ability. "I told him he needed to think about what got him there. He's there because the manager trusts him to take chances," Naismith said.
That conversation proved transformative. Naismith says Shankland is now "totally different... comfortable... believes he's part of it." The striker has matured dramatically, elevating his confidence and consistency. At 28 goals (as of March 2024) with a recent run of 15 goals in 15 matches, Shankland had proven his club form at Hearts, though the international stage presented a different challenge.
Now, at the World Cup, Shankland is poised to be Scotland's primary attacking threat. His journey from fourth-tier obscurity with Robertson to the global stage represents not just personal redemption, but collective progress for a nation historically struggling to break through in World Cup group stages.
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