Injury and the form of Hearts’ Alexander Schwolow means Gordon only played six times – three for his club and three for his country – last season. One of them stands head and shoulders above all others – the 4-2 victory over Denmark in November that propelled Scotland into their first World Cup in 28 years.
“I was emotional,” he says of that extraordinary night at Hampden. “I definitely cried in my room about that, about how much it meant to everybody.
“I can still feel it now. I was super focused in that game to the point where Scott McTominay scored one of the best goals I’ve ever seen in my life and I didn’t even react. I just walked back to my six-yard box and got ready for the restart.
“They equalised, we scored again, they equalised again. It was starting to look like more glorious failure. Kieran [Tierney] puts the ball in the top corner from the edge of the box and, again, I just walked back. Went straight back to my goal, thinking we’ve got five minutes now. I need to keep the ball out of the net. If I’m celebrating, I’m not clear in what I’m doing.
“I nearly didn’t play this season. I was thinking about going at the end of last season, so to qualify for a World Cup. Wow. That was one last effort. One last goal. And it’s come off.”
Before the tournament, he said the World Cup was “almost definitely” the end. It’s proven to be just that.
Though he didn’t get a run-out – with Angus Gunn winning the nip and tuck race for Scotland’s brief appearance – the past two decades taught us that you write Gordon off at your peril.
This is probably the most resilient footballer Scotland has ever produced, a man who has endured a physical and mental buffeting without ever breaking.
Gordon was the oldest player at the 2026 tournament. A walking miracle to the last.
