Anthony Ralston facts for kids
Ralston training with Celtic in 2024
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anthony Ralston | ||
| Date of birth | 16 November 1998 | ||
| 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) |
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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.
Contents
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.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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
In Spanish: Anthony Ralston para niños
