Tuesday, 14 April 2026

Barron wants perfect end to season by winning tittle and making world cup squad

Rangers are one point behind Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts with Celtic a further two behind; Barron was part of the Scotland squad that qualified for the World Cup in November; his only national appearance was against Liechtenstein last June.

Rangers have won their last four Premiership games

Rangers midfielder Connor Barron is targeting a “perfect” end to the season by winning the Scottish Premiership title and making Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for this summer’s World Cup.

The 23-year-old was influential in Danny Röhl's early weeks as Rangers head coach and has recently recovered from a knee injury which kept him out of action for more than two months.

His pre-injury form earned him consecutive late call-ups to the national team for camps in October and November - where he was part of the squad that secured a historic first World Cup qualification in 28 years with a famous 4-2 victory over Denmark at Hampden Park.

Since his return in mid-March, Barron has only featured as a substitute for his club as January signing Tochi Chukwuani remains the preferred midfield partner of Belgium international Nico Raskin.

However, the former Aberdeen man is determined to play his part in the title race and catch Clarke's eye before the trip to the USA.

Where does Barron fit in for Scotland?

 

 
 
 
 
 
Rangers midfielder Connor Barron is targeting a “perfect” end to the season by winning the Scottish Premiership title and making Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for this summer’s World Cup.

If you're looking for a spot in the Scotland squad, central midfield usually isn't the best place to look. The Scots are stacked in that area of the pitch.

Napoli's title-winning duo of Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour will surely be on the plane; so too will fellow Serie A star Lewis Ferguson.


Aston Villa skipper John McGinn and Bournemouth's Ryan Christie are Premier League regulars and Scotland stalwarts, while teenager Lennon Miller has featured in 14 of Udinese's last 15 matches.

As for Kenny McLean, well, he scored THAT goal.

Scotland
Image: McLean scored from inside own half in stoppage time to seal Scotland's spot at the World Cup.

So where does Barron fit in?

In March, Clarke named eight midfielders in his 26-man squad for two World Cup warm-up friendly matches against Japan and Ivory Coast: the aforementioned seven plus Sparta Prague's Andy Irving.

Assuming no injuries, and that the Scotland boss goes with the same split of goalkeepers/defenders/midfielders/forwards, it's that eighth spot that Barron will be fighting for.

His competition likely includes Irving as well as an uncapped quintet of domestic players: Josh Mulligan (Hibernian), Elliot Watt (Motherwell), Marc Leonard (Hearts), Luke McCowan (Celtic) and David Watson (Kilmarnock).

With so much competition for places, what can Barron bring to the national team?

"I think I could bring my energy, composure on the ball, and tenacity off it. There's a lot of things within my game that I feel I could bring to the team," the Rangers midfielder told Sky Sports News.

"It's just down to me performing and getting in the door and hopefully playing.

"It would mean everything to me. My debut was a moment I'll never forget. It's one you always dream of as a young boy to go and pull on that Scotland shirt and represent your country.

VADUZ, LIECHTENSTEIN - JUNE 08: Scotland's Che Adams (C) celebrates scoring to make it 4-0 with teammates (L-R) Connor Barron, Andy Irving, Kieron Bowie and Lennon Miller during an International Friendly match between Liechtenstein and Scotland at Rheinpark Stadion, on June 08, 2025, in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Image: Barron made his Scotland debut against Liechtenstein last June.

"If I could go and do that again then that would be a dream come true.

"The opportunity to get to a World Cup was great back in the Denmark game when we qualified and it's been a target ever since then to get into the squad in the summer. Fingers crossed, performances here need to be good and hopefully I can be on that plane.

"I wasn't born when we last got to a World Cup, but you hear stories within the family and they tell you things.

"It was great, the night was great. You couldn't really have written it with the goals that happened [vs Denmark]. It was an unforgettable night at Hampden, and it was great celebrations after.

"All the boys in the squad are buzzing to get over to America and hopefully participate better than we did last time.

"[The perfect end to the season] would be winning the league and getting on that plane to the World Cup."

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