There are footballers who take the motorway and footballers who take the country lanes. Ross Stewart has taken every back road going — broken nose included — and is now on the verge of arriving at two of the game's grandest destinations simultaneously.

The Southampton striker has been named in Steve Clarke's Scotland squad for the World Cup while also firing the Saints towards the Premier League through the Championship play-offs. At 29, a career that once looked as though it might dissolve entirely in the Scottish junior leagues is threatening to peak in the most spectacular fashion.

Reinvention in the junior game

Stewart's story begins not in the polished surroundings of an academy but on the unforgiving terraces of the Scottish juniors — a semi-professional set-up with its own governing body, entirely separate from the Scottish FA. After unsuccessful spells in the youth systems at St Mirren, Celtic and Partick Thistle, he turned out for Ardeer Thistle and Kilwinning Rangers, where raw competition rather than coaching manuals shaped him into the forward he is today.

The environment is not for the faint-hearted. Stewart still carries the physical evidence of one afternoon against Pollok, when a shoulder to the face left his nose pointing sideways and the terraces offering sympathy of a distinctly unsympathetic kind. He got up and got on with it. That resilience, forged in the junior game, has defined everything that followed.

His form at Kilwinning earned him a return to senior football with third-tier Albion Rovers — though the deal carried a charming footnote. Rovers could only cover £1,000 of the £1,500 fee Kilwinning were asking for. Stewart's father, Cameron, made up the difference himself. It stands as one of Scottish football's more astute pieces of transfer business.

The long climb to the top

From Albion Rovers, the trajectory pointed firmly upwards. Stewart moved to St Mirren, then Ross County, before joining Sunderland with the club mired in League One. What followed turned him into a cult figure at the Stadium of Light — a run of goals that powered their promotion to the Championship and earned him the nickname 'The Loch Ness Drogba' among a support that recognised a striker who delivers when the stakes are highest.

Southampton paid for his services in 2023, though the move was soon clouded by a difficult run of injuries that frustrated his first full season at St Mary's. The noises out of Southampton for much of that period were ones of cautious hope rather than expectation, with Stewart spending more time on the treatment table than in front of goal.

Goals when it matters

The second half of this season has been a different story entirely. Stewart has netted nine times since January, with contributions arriving precisely when Southampton needed them most — a goal against Arsenal in an FA Cup quarter-final victory and another in the play-off semi-final second leg against Middlesbrough that sent the Saints through to the final. His 33 appearances this season represent his most in a campaign since 2021-22, and the market has taken note of the timing.

Clarke moved quickly to reward that form. Stewart's place in the Scotland World Cup squad was confirmed alongside fellow call-up Curtis, with the national manager describing him as a big-game scorer — a tag the evidence fully supports.

Two chapters remain unwritten. If Southampton secure promotion through the play-off final, Stewart returns to the Premier League as one of the division's most dangerous forwards. If Scotland make an impact at the World Cup, he will be there. A decade ago he was getting sparked out in the junior leagues while the crowds called him every name going. The country lanes, it turns out, can lead somewhere very good indeed.

Frequently asked

How did Ross Stewart get into professional football?
Stewart was released by St Mirren, Celtic and Partick Thistle before dropping into the Scottish junior game with Ardeer Thistle and Kilwinning Rangers. His form there earned him a move to Albion Rovers in the SPFL, and he worked his way up through St Mirren, Ross County and Sunderland before joining Southampton.
Is Ross Stewart in the Scotland World Cup squad?
Yes. Stewart has been named in Steve Clarke's Scotland squad for the World Cup after a strong second half of the 2024-25 season with Southampton, during which he scored nine goals including key strikes against Arsenal and Middlesbrough.
What is the Scottish juniors and why is it different from regular football?
The Scottish junior game is a semi-professional set-up with its own governing body, separate from the Scottish FA. It is fiercely competitive and features players ranging from teenagers to former professionals in their forties. Several senior professionals, including Stewart, have used it to rebuild their careers after being released from academy systems.