kids encyclopedia robot

Anthony Ralston facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Anthony Ralston
Celtic-20240722-034.jpg
Ralston training with Celtic in 2024
Personal information
Full name Anthony Ralston
Date of birth (1998-11-16) 16 November 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Bellshill, Scotland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
Celtic
Number 56
Youth career
2007–2015 Celtic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015– Celtic 87 (7)
2015–2016 Queen's Park (loan) 10 (1)
2018 Dundee United (loan) 11 (1)
2019–2020 St Johnstone (loan) 22 (0)
International career
2016 Scotland U19 6 (0)
2017 Scotland U20 5 (0)
2017–2018 Scotland U21 5 (0)
2021– Scotland 21 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:31, 15 May 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:44, 9 June 2025 (UTC)

Anthony Ralston, born on November 16, 1998, is a Scottish professional footballer. He plays as a right-back for the Scottish Premiership club Celtic and is also part of the Scotland national team.

Playing for Clubs

Starting at Celtic

Anthony Ralston joined the youth system at Celtic when he was just eight years old. He made his first appearance for the senior team on May 11, 2016. This match was against St Johnstone, and Celtic lost 2–1.

He scored his first goal for Celtic on August 8, 2017. This happened during a Scottish League Cup game where Celtic won 5–0 against Kilmarnock. Ralston played in more games during the early part of the 2017–18 season. This included a UEFA Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain. However, he got a knee injury in late September that year. In December 2017, Ralston signed a new long-term contract with Celtic. This deal was set to last until the end of the 2021–22 season.

Loan Spells and Return

On March 16, 2018, Ralston joined Dundee United on a short-term loan. Dundee United was trying to get promoted from the Championship to the Premiership. He played his first game for them on March 20, in a 3–2 loss to Queen of the South. He played 15 games and scored two goals for Dundee United. He helped them reach the play-off semi-final for promotion, but they lost to Livingston.

On September 2, 2019, Ralston moved to St Johnstone for a season-long loan. After returning from this loan, Ralston played only one game for Celtic in the next season. This was a 0–0 draw against Livingston. Many regular players were missing due to a Covid-19 isolation issue at that time. It seemed like his time at Celtic might be ending.

Becoming a Key Player

At the start of the 2021–22 season, a new manager, Ange Postecoglou, arrived. Ralston signed a contract extension until May 2022. He started in both matches against FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds. News outlets praised his strong performances early in the season. He scored goals against Hearts and Dundee. On November 2, 2021, he signed another long-term contract with Celtic, keeping him at the club until 2025.

On December 15, 2021, Ralston scored a winning goal in the 97th minute. This was against Ross County in a 2–1 away victory. Celtic was playing with only ten men in that game. This goal was seen as one of the most important moments of the season for Celtic. It helped them stay close to Rangers, who were four points ahead at the time. Celtic then went on to win the 2021-22 Scottish Premiership title.

In late 2022, Celtic signed Canadian player Alistair Johnston. Johnston quickly became the main right-back. Ralston's role then became a reliable back-up player. On September 26, 2023, Ralston signed a new four-year contract with Celtic. This deal means he will stay with the club until 2027.

International Career

Youth Teams

Ralston played for several Scotland youth teams. These included the under-21s.

He was part of the Scotland under-20 squad for the 2017 Toulon Tournament. In this tournament, Scotland beat Brazil under-20s 1–0. This was the first time Scotland had ever beaten Brazil at any level of football. The team went on to win the bronze medal. This was Scotland's first-ever medal at this competition. He was also selected for the under-21 squad in the 2018 Toulon Tournament. They lost to Turkey under-21s in a penalty shootout and finished fourth.

Senior Team

In November 2021, Ralston was called up to the senior squad for the first time. This was for a 2022 World Cup qualifier against Denmark. He replaced Nathan Patterson, who was suspended. He made his international debut in that match, coming on as a late substitute for Kieran Tierney. In his second game for Scotland, he scored his first international goal. This happened during a 2022–23 UEFA Nations League group match against Armenia.

On June 7, 2024, Ralston was chosen for Scotland's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 finals in Germany. A week later, he started the first match of the tournament. Scotland lost this game 5–1 to the host nation, Germany. He also started in the second match against Switzerland and the third against Hungary. Scotland finished last in Group A with only one point from three matches.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

Here you can see how many games Anthony Ralston has played and how many goals he has scored for his clubs.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Celtic 2015–16 Scottish Premiership 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2016–17 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2017–18 3 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 7 1
2018–19 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
2019–20 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 0
2020–21 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2021–22 28 4 3 0 4 0 12 1 0 0 47 5
2022–23 13 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 18 0
2023–24 15 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 18 0
2024–25 16 2 2 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 23 2
Total 87 7 9 0 11 1 19 1 0 0 126 9
Queen's Park (loan) 2015–16 Scottish League Two 10 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 14 1
Dundee United (loan) 2017–18 Scottish Championship 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 15 2
St Johnstone (loan) 2019–20 Scottish Premiership 22 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 0
Career total 130 9 12 0 11 1 19 1 7 1 179 12

International Appearances and Goals

This table shows how many games Anthony Ralston has played and goals he has scored for the Scotland national team each year.

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 2021 1 0
2022 5 1
2023 1 0
2024 11 0
2025 3 0
Total 21 1
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ralston goal.
List of international goals scored by Anthony Ralston
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 June 2022 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Armenia 1–0 2–0 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B

Honours and Achievements

Anthony Ralston has won several important titles with Celtic:

Celtic

  • Scottish Premiership (7 times): 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
  • Scottish Cup (3 times): 2018–19, 2022–23, 2023–24
  • Scottish League Cup (4 times): 2018–19, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2024–25

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Anthony Ralston para niños

kids search engine
Anthony Ralston Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.