Sunderland and Scotland striker Ross Stewart keen for more after international debut

Stewart spoke of his pride after making his debut for Scotland in a 2-0 win over Armenia in the Nations League.

Scotland are set to face Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, June 11, before a second game against Armenia three days later.

This is the second time the 25-year-old has been called up by his country, yet the forward was an unused substitute for a friendly match against Poland in March, as well as for this month’s World Cup play-off defeat by Ukraine.

Yet Stewart, who scored 26 goals for Sunderland in League One during the 2021/22 season, came off the bench to replace Bournemouth's Ryan Christie three minutes from time against Armenia at Hampden Park.

Ahead of the Ireland game, Stewart said: “It has certainly whetted the appetite [for more minutes].

“It is going to be obviously be a tough game away from home.

“They have lost their first games, so, obviously, they’ll be wanting a reaction as well.

“But we know what we have got in that dressing room and it is certainly a game that we will be going over to try and win. Hopefully, we can do that.”

Stewart said: “Even speaking about it now, it’s starting to sink in and I’m really proud.

“My parents were there, so I’m sure we’ll talk a lot about it.

"It was obviously a very proud moment for me, but certainly a proud moment for them and I am glad that they could be there when I was able to get my first minutes.”

On the Scotland fans, Stewart said: “They came out and supported us in their numbers again.

“The boys are very thankful for that and I have no doubt we will see them in Ireland and probably see them in Armenia as well. They play a big part as well and it was great to send them home with a victory.

“Obviously last week was very disappointing and it was all about showing character to that and the boys did that really well.

“It was a very comfortable victory and a really professional victory. The only thing is that we were probably unlucky not to get a couple of more goals.”