Hibs star called up to Scotland squad as Hearts ace on the verge of another milestone

Ryan Porteous has been called up to the Scotland squad for the upcoming international triple-header.

The Hibs defender has been included in Steve Clarke’s 25-man unit for the Nations League fixtures. Porteous, who was capped 14 times by the under-21s, has yet to play for the senior squad despite previous call-ups.

He’s in the last year of his contract at Easter Road where he came through the ranks at his boyhood heroes before making himself a valuable member of the first-team.

Hearts captain Craig Gordon retains his place as the first-choice goalkeeper for the national team. The Tynecastle No.1 will have the chance to bypass Tom Boyd in the all-time list of Scotland appearance makers. The 39-year-old currently has 70 caps and will jump up into sixth place if he plays in all three matches across the international break.

Hibs defender Ryan Porteous heads towards goal in the Scottish Cup semi-final earlier this year. His effort would be saved by his international team-mate, Hearts keeper Craig Gordon. Picture: SNS

Scotland face a difficult run of games as they look to get their Nations League campaign back on track. Ukraine visit Hampden on Wednesday, September 21 in a rematch of the World Cup play-off semi-final, where Clarke’s men lost 3-1 to end their hopes of going to Qatar. There then follows a visit from the Republic of Ireland, who shocked Scotland with a 3-0 thumping in Dublin earlier this summer. That game takes place on the Saturday, three days before Clarke’s side travel to the Marshal Józef Piłsudski Stadium in Krakow to face Ukraine again.

Captain Andrew Robertson misses out through injury, as does ex-Hearts defender John Souttar, who joined Rangers in the summer.

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