Ali McCann

Ali McCann
Personal information
Full name Alistair Edward McCann
Date of birth (1999-12-04) 4 December 1999 (age 26)
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position 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)
2019 → Stranraer (loan) 13 (1)
2021– Preston North End 147 (3)
International career‡
Northern Ireland youth
2019–2020 Northern Ireland U21 6 (0)
2020– Northern Ireland 33 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:44, 26 August 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 13 October 2025

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.

Early and personal life

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

Club career

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

McCann joined Stranraer on loan in February 2019.

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

International career

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

On 15 November 2020, McCann made his senior international debut, against Austria.

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

Career statistics

As of match played 26 August 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
St Johnstone 2016–17 Scottish Premiership 0000001010
2017–18 Scottish Premiership 3010001050
2018–19 Scottish Premiership 1000101030
2019–20 Scottish Premiership 294303000354
2020–21 Scottish Premiership 342504000432
2021–22 Scottish Premiership 4000104090
Total 716909070966
Stranraer (loan) 2018–19 Scottish League One 131000000131
Preston North End 2021–22 EFL Championship 281102000311
2022–23 EFL Championship 310202200352
2023–24 EFL Championship 310101000330
2024–25 EFL Championship 291302000341
2025–26 Championship 2611010—281
2026–27 Championship 200020—40
Total 147380102001655
Career total 231101701927027412
  1. ↑ Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup
  2. ↑ Includes Scottish League Cup, EFL Cup
  3. 1 2 3 Appearances for the U20 team in Scottish League Challenge Cup.
  4. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

St Johnstone

References

  1. ↑ Ali McCann at WorldFootball.net Edit this at Wikidata
  2. 1 2 3 "Alistair McCann". IFA.
  3. ↑ "Ali McCann". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "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. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "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. ↑ "Games played by Ali McCann in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  23. ↑ "Games played by Ali McCann in 2026/2027". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  24. ↑ Lindsay, Clive (22 May 2021). "Perth side complete domestic cup double". BBC. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  25. ↑ "St Johnstone beat Livingston to clinch their first League Cup". BBC. 28 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.