Porteous recalled to Scotland squad after move to Los Angeles earns place for Nations League tie
Ryan Porteous has been recalled to the Scotland squad by manager Sebastien Pocognoli for the Nations League match against North Macedonia in Glasgow on Friday, the call coming after an injury to Swansea City's Stephen Welsh. The 27-year-old defender has been playing in Major League Soccer and has made 52 appearances for his Los Angeles club since joining in August last year.
Porteous's career began in Dalkeith and progressed through the Hibernian Under-20s and a loan spell with Edinburgh City before he featured more than 150 times for Hibernian's first team. He moved to Watford and played more than 80 games there, then transferred to Los Angeles, the cross-town rivals of LA Galaxy, where he has built his current form. Reflecting on the journey, he said: "Dalkeith, I know man. I could be the first ever, actually, to be fair," Porteous laughed when asked about his journey to California.
Describing his living and training routine in the United States, Porteous said: "It's some place. It's good. I stay in Pasadena. So a little bit outside the temptation zone, as I call it. I stay pretty close to the practice facility as I can't be doing with the traffic every day when I'm in and out to training." The location and proximity to the club's training ground are part of how he has adapted to life in MLS.
Pocognoli's recall of Porteous followed the injury to Swansea City's Stephen Welsh and comes with the manager continuing to assess his squad. "That's the same as everyone," Porteous said. "The manager is probably still figuring out who he wants to select and he's given boys an opportunity in most games. For me, it's all about just putting in a good representation of myself and being professional and doing what I do." Porteous's last Scotland appearance came against Greece in March 2025.
Porteous said the volume and travel demands of MLS took some adjustment after he moved in August last year. "I'm enjoying it," Porteous said. "There's been a lot of games. It's probably something I didn't realise when I went over there, how many games there were in terms of travel and dealing with long flights, recovery times and things like that. That caught me off guard a little bit. It was tough, but I think, once you start getting into the swing of it, it's good." He added that the experience has contributed to consistent club form.
On the standard of opponents in MLS, Porteous said the league is becoming stronger and that many teams field forwards of high quality. "I think I've probably had one of my most consistent seasons over the last three or four years. The level varies, I think, between every team and every position. I'm fortunate and unfortunate at the same time that the majority of the team's best players are number 10s, strikers, or wingers, so every game for me is really tough and the league's growing out there. You see it, there's more money getting put into it. There's bigger names coming out that, you know, aren't just coming out for retirement. I think it's a good place for me to be." Reflecting on facing Lionel Messi, he said: "I don't know if I enjoy being up against Messi like that, but we had a good night that night. But that was one where you just could never settle. We managed to get the win, so I'll take that. You're playing against world-class players. Even if you take Messi out of it, you're still playing against probably good Premier League forwards with the amount of money that these guys are getting paid."
Porteous will attempt to convert his club form into international minutes when Scotland play North Macedonia in Glasgow on Friday; he said he wants to re-establish himself in the national team. If he can secure a place in the side, "the man from Dalkeith might take some shifting," the article concluded.