![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_JS404868656.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Scotland boss has named his 26-man squad but there’s no place for McBurnie or Lennon Miller<\/p>\n
Scotland boss Steve Clarke<\/p>\n
Steve Clarke froze Oli McBurnie<\/a> out of his World Cup squad \u2013 then criticised the striker for going public with his Scotland grievances.<\/p>\n The national team boss \u2013 who revealed his future WILL be sorted before he boards the plane for America on May 31 \u2013 named his 26-man group on Tuesday<\/a> for the tournament in America but there was no place for the 18-goal Hull City frontman.<\/p>\n McBurnie recently revealed he called Clarke in March<\/a> to query why he wasn\u2019t included for friendly games against Japan and Ivory Coast after his stellar season in the Championship.<\/p>\n The Scotland gaffer says those conversations should have remained between the pair.<\/p>\n And Clarke \u2013 who called up Southampton forward Ross Stewart ahead of McBurnie \u2013 insists he only picks players he knows he can trust.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI thought that was a private conversation, to be honest. He (McBurnie) should not have gone to the media.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just the way I work, I tend to stick to players I\u2019ve had before. I trust them.<\/p>\n Findlay Curtis celebrates his goal<\/p>\n \u201cThey know what I expect from them and that\u2019s it. It\u2019s a natural selection process – natural in my head, anyway – but maybe not in everybody else\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n In April, McBurnie revealed he spoke to Clarke about being left out of the World Cup warm-up games.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI rang the manager when his last squad was getting announced, just to kind of see his feelings on things.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said to me that he builds his squad on loyalty and that Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes have done really well for him.<\/p>\n \u201cSo he sees those two ahead of me.\u201d<\/p>\n But Stewart was a surprise inclusion in the Scotland selection after a four-year absence from the international scene.<\/p>\n Clarke insists he deserves his spot after finding form for his club ahead of Saints\u2019 Championship play-off final against McBurnie and Hull at Wembley this Saturday.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cIt\u2019s a good story. Ross obviously was in my squad a few years ago and showed that he could come up to this level.<\/p>\n \u201cHe then had a terrible run of injuries. But this season, certainly from January onwards, he\u2019s hit a rich vein of form where he\u2019s shown that he can score big goals in big games.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d probably reference the Arsenal game in the FA Cup where he showed he can have an impact on games of that level.<\/p>\n \u201cThe World Cup will be a very high level as well. He\u2019s a striker in form so I decided to add him to the group.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Ross, it\u2019s just form. He\u2019s been in the group before so the vast majority of players will know him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe fitted in very well the last time he was in it. You know I put a lot of importance on characters within the group.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully we\u2019re going to be away for four or five weeks so you need good relationships with all the players. It\u2019s very important we have that.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Clarke is adamant that his future as Scotland boss will be finalised before his squad leaves for the US.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_JS404868679.jpg\")
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