Gary Naysmith on his two big Scotland regrets as Tartan Army hero recalls his strike that downed Iceland

Daily Record

01-06-2025

Everton and Hearts icon scored his one and only international goal against this Friday's opponents.
One of the proudest moments of Gary Naysmith's career arrived for Scotland against Iceland.
He might not have known it at the time but the Nordic nation also played a part in one of his major regrets.
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The former Everton and Hearts ace boasts a perfect four wins from four against the Icelanders and scored his one and only goal for Scotland in a 2-0 Euro qualifying success in Reykjavik in 2002.
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But his 46th and final appearance arrived back at Hampden in a 2-1 World Cup qualifying victory against Eidur Gudjohnsen and co seven years later.
And as the two nations prepare to lock horns for the first time since that April 2009 evening, Naysmith admits his biggest disappointment from a 20-year playing career was falling just short of 50 caps and entry to the Hampden roll of honour.
That and a failure to qualify for a major tournament with his country.
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It's a different story now with the latest squad having reached the last two European Championships.
And given the number of hall of famers at Steve Clarke 's disposal, Naysmith reckons reaching a first World Cup for 28 years is also now a real possibility.
The latest quest begins with Friday's friendly clash against Iceland in Glasgow before Clarke finalises his squad for the World Cup qualifiers starting in September.
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And Naysmith, now manager at Stenhousemuir, said: 'Every game is big for Scotland and these players seem to appreciate that. I loved playing for my country.
'My only Scotland goal was against Iceland - with my right foot as well! I was playing centre midfield which was an unusual position for me but the goal is something I will always cherish.
'I remember the cross coming in, taking a decent touch and then.. listen when I swing with my right foot the first thing I was just trying to concentrate on was making sure I actually hit the ball!
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'I caught it well and it was one of those ones you know is going in straight away. The feeling of scoring for Scotland is incredible.
'Playing for your country's a big thing but then actually scoring for your country's something else. It was one of the highlights of my career, no doubt about it.
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'I crossed for Christian Dailly's opener as well so it was a good trip all round.
'Four games against them and four wins isn't bad. My wife also booked us a weekend in Iceland for my 40th birthday so there's been quite a significant link with Iceland.
'But the 2-1 win in 2009 turned out to be my last appearance. I was only 30 so my international career ended quite suddenly.'
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A hamstring injury picked up with Sheffield United two weeks after that game refused to go away and Naysmith missed an entire year. But never would he pull on a Scotland jersey again.
He said: 'I was very lucky to get 46 caps - 45 of them starts. I've not got too many regrets in my career. But the two I do have are both with Scotland - not getting to a major tournament and not getting 50 caps and into the Hall of Fame.
'The second one is probably the bigger regret. It would have been a nice thing to show the grandkids to take them and see the Hall of Fame at Hampden.
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'I'd have really loved to be able to say I got 50 caps for Scotland. And I should have got that. I missed too many squads through injury.'
Now managing Stenhousemuir, Naysmith will be backing Clarke's side as a fan on Friday night.
With newly crowned Serie A champions Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour in the ranks beside Coppa Italia winner Lewis Ferguson, Torino's Che Adams and Premier League big guns John McGinn, Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney there's no shortage of top level quality.
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And it's a gathering of experience Naysmith hopes can help Clarke's troops get over the line when the World Cup qualifiers begin.
He said: 'We have a lot of players who are doing really well in the big leagues. Our teams also had that. Players who were playing sporadically in England or at Rangers or Celtic, big clubs.
'But these lads going abroad and doing well helps the national team. Hopefully this can be their year.
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'The choices we have in midfield especially is very strong.
'You wonder if we have a definite centre half pairing. And striker is a bit of an issue - we don't seem to have an out and out first pick.
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'But midfield is so strong and it's interesting to see how Steve will fit them all in.'
Former Hearts man Andy Irving is the newcomer to the engine room. The West Ham star has his chance to impress Clarke.
And although Naysmith never worked with the 25-year-old playmaker at Hearts he came up against him plenty as manager of Queen of the South.
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He said: 'Technically Andy is superb. He was on loan at Falkirk and one thing you know is that his passing ability is exceptional.
'You had to make sure he never got a lot of time on the ball or he would hurt you. There's parts of his game he has obviously worked hard on in various different countries.
'It's an unbelievable story. It shows you, you have to go and play. You get to a certain age and you need games.
'That's why I left Everton at 28. I had an another three-year deal on the table but I knew in my heart of hearts that I probably wasn't going to be starting in the big games.
'I just wanted to play so I moved on. That's what these boys are doing and they will benefit for that.'