International Career
The 1976-77 season saw Cooper make his international debut for Scotland's under-21s. It came in the Czech town of Pilsen. Cooper played alongside the likes of Roy Aitken, George Burley and John Wark in a 0-0 draw. His cap that October night meant that he missed the Clydebank game Brockville the only match he missed all season. He secured another three caps that season - against Wales, Switzerland and England.
His debut for the full national side came on 12 September 1979 in a 1-1 friendly draw with Peru at Hampden Park. He played for the national side again the following month in a 1-1 home draw with Austria in the Euro 1980 qualifiers, but after that he was not capped for more than four years. He returned to the international side in style on 28 February 1984, scoring against Wales in a 2-1 Home Championship win. He was on the scoresheet for Scotland again later in the year in an impressive 6-1 friendly win over Yugoslavia.
Cooper had become a regular in the Scotland team where, prior to the 1986 World Cup, he had played in 11 straight games. He played in the crucial match against Wales at Ninian Park, coming on as substitute for Gordon Strachan and scoring the penalty that took Scotland another step on the road to Mexico. The night also brought sadness as Jock Stein, the Scotland manager, died from a heart attack at the end of the game.
Scotland had to beat Australia for the privilege to cross the Atlantic and Cooper was on the score sheet in the 2-0 win. Cooper, who had been prominent in the run up to the World Cup, was employed sparingly by Alex Ferguson in Mexico, making just two appearances.
Cooper scored the last two of his six goals for the Scottish senior side on 12 November 1986 in a 3-0 home win over Luxembourg in the Euro 88 qualifiers. He was capped four more times for Scotland afterwards, the last of his 22 caps coming on 16 May 1990 in a friendly against Egypt at Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen which the Egyptians won 3-1.
Read more about this topic: Davie Cooper
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