International week is a dull and boring one for a vast majority of Rangers fans, most of us don’t care much for the national team for many reasons that I could spend the next three weeks writing about. So, again during a break in domestic football, I thought I could concentrate on a Rangers great with an impressive international record.
This is still a raw subject for many a fan but it’s hard not to choose Ally McCoist as my subject matter, his international record was too good to pass up on and he’s one of only few players to have played for Rangers and also play for Scotland at a major tournament.
Ally played a total of 61 times for the senior team and scored 19 goals, he made his debut in April 86 in a 0-0 draw with the Netherlands. The striker was selected for the 1990 World cup in Italy after playing a large hand in qualification. Unfortunately, he only started one game and came on as a sub in the other two matches. At the start of 1993, McCoist suffered a broken leg during a game against the Portuguese and we failed to qualify for the 1994 world cup, I vaguely remembering this happening because he missed the last few games of the season which included a Scottish cup final but Ally recovered in time to make a substitute appearance against Hibs in the League cup final and score an overhead kick winner.
Oddly he only scored one goal at a major competition with a belting strike at Villa Park from the outside of the box against the Swiss at Euro 96, with the ball laid off to him he skelped the ball with the outside of his right foot to fire the ball into the top corner. The game ended in a 1-0 victory for Scotland which saw us exit yet another competition on goal difference. Sadly, this was also his last goal in a Scotland top and started the demise of his international career.
The Gers striker wasn’t selected for the 98 World cup squad and only played a couple of games after that, with his last coming in a 3-2 over Estonia. Super Ally was inducted into the Scotland national football roll of honour in 96 after completing 50 caps for his country and became the fifth highest goal scorer in Scotlands history.
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