Billy Gilmour admits he was “s******g myself” before his first Scotland start at Wembley against England at Euro 2020 – a night he remembers vividly despite the nerves. Now, five years on, the 25-year-old Napoli midfielder is preparing to earn his 50th cap for his country in Tuesday night’s Nations League clash with Slovenia.
A Debut to Remember
Gilmour’s first two caps for Scotland were less memorable. His debut against Holland in a friendly was a nine-minute cameo, and after coming off the bench for his second cap against Luxembourg he was knocked unconscious. But his first start, against England at Wembley, will always stay with him – not just for the man-of-the-match performance in a 0-0 draw, but for the nerves he felt before stepping onto the pitch.
“In the friendly against Luxembourg, I got knocked out and I had to come off!” he said. “That was a while ago now. I was just a young kid buzzing to go and play for my country. The first start at Wembley - I remember that because I was s******g myself! The day before, I remember doing the shape and I was in the team. I could feel the nerves but I was excited as well.”
From COVID Setback to World Cup Heartbreak
After that standout display, Gilmour had to pull out of the squad due to COVID. “I wanted to stay and play. But it just made me hungrier to come back, get called up again, and try to play as many games as possible.” He says he still gets nerves now, but he wants to help younger players: “I see the young ones now when they come up, there’s nerves and a bit of the unknown for them as well. So you want to be there to help them, give them good encouragement.”
Gilmour’s lowest moment came when injury ruled him out of the World Cup in America four months ago. He received the news alongside then-boss Steve Clarke in a car journey he will never forget. “Yeah, that’s probably my lowest moment in football. And hopefully it stays like that. It was tough. You go into a game (v Curacao) and you’re 90 minutes away from a World Cup. The first thing you’re thinking is: ‘OK, no stupid tackles’. But then it happens. You’re dreading it.”
Back to His Best Under New Boss
Despite the setback, Gilmour travelled to the USA to support his team-mates and experience the tournament from a fan’s perspective. “It didn’t cross my mind not to. My family and friends were all booked up so it would only have been me staying in Scotland to watch the games, dwelling on it. So I wanted to go over there and experience it from a fan perspective and I did that. I had a good summer off the pitch, it was amazing.”
Now back as a pivotal player for Scotland, Gilmour is enjoying a more advanced role under new head coach Sebastien Pocognoli. “I’m a lot more mature now,” he said. “I used to be the youngest in the squad and the older boys would look out for me and help me. Now, I’m getting older and a lot of new faces have come in so I have more responsibility. I’m enjoying it. I’m back playing football, which is the most important thing.” He added: “When I was younger I played a more attacking role, a bit of a number 10 - a freedom role. Then I moved away from that as I wanted to get on the ball more. But I’ll try my best in any position. It’s a nice feeling to be a bit further forward trying to get in among the goals and assists.”
