James McFadden - International Career

International Career

McFadden gained his first Scotland cap at the age of 19, on a Far East tour against South Africa, at the end of which a night out drinking caused him to miss his flight home. Despite his domestic performances he became a regular in Berti Vogts' Scotland set-up, scoring his first goal against the Faroe Islands during a 3–1 win in a UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying match at Hampden Park on 6 September 2003.

He is also remembered for his goal against the Netherlands in November 2003 that gave Scotland a famous 1–0 victory. However, in September 2007, McFadden scored an even more significant goal in a 1–0 win over France in Paris during Scotland's dramatic but ultimately narrowly unsuccessful qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 2008, and was on target again in the following game, a 3–1 win over Ukraine at Hampden Park in October. He was unable to score in the last match of the campaign against Italy in November 2007 at Hampden, which Scotland lost 2–1. He has become a cult hero for his country due to his consistent goal scoring exploits.. The winning goal in the September 2008 match against Iceland in the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, scored on the rebound after McFadden's penalty kick was saved, was initially credited to McFadden, but in the official match report was awarded to Barry Robson. The SFA lobbied on McFadden's behalf, and in March 2009, FIFA re-credited the goal to him.

McFadden was substituted at half-time in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualification match against Liechtenstein in September 2010, and was criticised by manager Craig Levein after the game. McFadden suffered a serious injury soon afterwards, which has kept him out of international action since then. He criticised Levein in February 2012 for describing him as "lazy".