Alistair Edward McCann (born 4 December 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Preston North End. Born in Scotland, he represents Northern Ireland at international level.

Alistair McCann
Personal information
Full name Alistair Edward McCann[1]
Date of birth (1999-12-04) 4 December 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Preston North End
Number 8
Youth career
Hutchison Vale Boys Club
2012–2017 St Johnstone
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2021 St Johnstone 71 (6)
2019Stranraer (loan) 13 (1)
2021– Preston North End 116 (2)
International career
Northern Ireland youth
2019–2020 Northern Ireland U21 6 (0)
2020– Northern Ireland[3] 8 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:32, 9 February 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:29, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

Early and personal life

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Born in Edinburgh,[4] McCann and his brothers Lewis (who is also a footballer) and Ross (who is Scotland and GB 7s player) were born and raised in Scotland to a Northern Irish father and an English mother.[5]

Club career

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McCann moved from Hutchison Vale Boys Club to St Johnstone in 2012.[4] He made his senior debut on 29 January 2018.[6]

McCann joined Stranraer on loan in February 2019.[7][8]

In May 2021 he was monitored by Celtic.[9] He moved to Preston North End on 31 August 2021.[10]

International career

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McCann has played youth football for Northern Ireland, including at under-21 level.[2][11]

On 15 November 2020, McCann made his senior international debut, against Austria.[2][12]

In October 2023 he pulled out of the Northern Ireland squad due to injury.[13]

Career statistics

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As of 8 February 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
St Johnstone 2016–17[14] Scottish Premiership 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[c] 0 1 0
2017–18[6] Scottish Premiership 3 0 1 0 0 0 1[c] 0 5 0
2018–19[15] Scottish Premiership 1 0 0 0 1 0 1[c] 0 3 0
2019–20[16] Scottish Premiership 29 4 3 0 3 0 0 0 35 4
2020–21[17] Scottish Premiership 34 2 5 0 4 0 0 0 43 2
2021–22[18] Scottish Premiership 4 0 0 0 1 0 4[d] 0 9 0
Total 71 6 9 0 9 0 7 0 96 6
Stranraer (loan) 2018–19[15] Scottish League One 13 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 1
Preston North End 2021–22[18] EFL Championship 28 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 31 1
2022–23[19] EFL Championship 31 0 2 0 2 2 0 0 35 2
2023–24[20] EFL Championship 31 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 33 0
2024–25[21] EFL Championship 26 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 30 1
Total 116 2 6 0 7 2 0 0 129 4
Career total 200 9 15 0 16 2 7 0 238 11
  1. ^ Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Scottish League Cup, EFL Cup
  3. ^ a b c Appearances for the U20 team in Scottish League Challenge Cup.
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

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St Johnstone

References

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  1. ^ Ali McCann at WorldFootball.net  
  2. ^ a b c "Alistair McCann". IFA.
  3. ^ "Ali McCann". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Profile". St Johnstone F.C. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Meet the McCanns: Ross, Ali, Lewis (and Scott) uphold family tradition". 20 April 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Games played by Ali McCann in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  7. ^ "McCann joins Stranraer on-loan". St Johnstone FC. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Win or bust for Ali". www.stranraerfc.org.
  9. ^ "McCann impresses Celtic's Kennedy" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  10. ^ "PNE Seal Deal For McCann". www.pnefc.net.
  11. ^ "Who is Ali McCann? Northern Ireland's newest call-up aiming to make a major impact in senior squad" – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
  12. ^ "NI lose to two late goals in Austria" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  13. ^ "McCann out of Northern Ireland home double-header" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  14. ^ "Games played by Ali McCann in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Games played by Ali McCann in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Games played by Ali McCann in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Games played by Ali McCann in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  18. ^ a b "Games played by Ali McCann in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Games played by Ali McCann in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  20. ^ "Games played by Ali McCann in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  21. ^ "Games played by Ali McCann in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  22. ^ Lindsay, Clive (22 May 2021). "Perth side complete domestic cup double". BBC. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  23. ^ "St Johnstone beat Livingston to clinch their first League Cup". BBC. 28 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.