Former Southampton star has just tasted victory for his nation at the World Cup

There are plenty of former Southampton players currently out at the 2026 edition of the World Cup that will catch the eye of Saints fans.

Virgil Van Dijk is arguably the most notable ex-Southampton face strutting his stuff on the grandest stage of them all, as Ronald Koeman - who is, of course, a former manager at St. Mary's himself - attempts to steer the Netherlands to World Cup glory with the Dutch colossus in the heart of defence.

Alongside the Liverpool battler, Che Adams lined up for Scotland in the early hours of Sunday morning in the United Kingdom versus Haiti, with the one-time Saints striker another well-liked individual when he called the South Coast home.

Adams' Southampton journey

Adams is currently plying his trade in Serie A with Torino, with the 29-year-old fresh off a six-goal season in Italy.

He's most widely recognised for a 191-game spell at St. Mary's, though, with the ex-Saints number ten powering home a respectable 48 goals, and collecting 21 assists, from those outings in both the Premier League and the Championship.

He remains in the good books of Southampton supporters, despite sometimes suffering from barren patches of form, due to his swansong season.

Indeed, Adams' final campaign donning the famous red and white strip was his most prolific, with the EFL veteran going on to bag 15 goals as Russell Martin's men won promotion to the Premier League at the close of the 2023/24 season.

Ralph Hasenhuttl, who managed Adams exclusively in the Premier League when he was Saints boss, would go out of his way to praise the Scotsman when their paths crossed, with the Austrian labelling the striker as a "fantastic" player to have in his camp.

Adams' choice after this standout season was to move onto Turin, where the goals have continued to flow, with 18 goals next to his name from 74 games for The Maroons.

He has also managed to become a reliable forward presence for Steve Clarke's Scotland over the past couple of years, with the 29-year-old out in the American heat currently for his adopted nation, having started the slim 1-0 victory over Haiti in Boston.

He is now a starter at the World Cup

When Adams was a youngster trying to cut his teeth at Sheffield United back in 2014, he likely wouldn't have envisaged he'd be pulling on a national team jersey for the Tartan Army at a World Cup.

In 2015, the Leicester-born attacker would even win himself a handful of caps for the England U20s, but in 2021, Adams would decide to pledge his national allegiances to Scotland instead.

It's been an inspired switch, with 13 goals coming his way from 48 caps to date.

He didn't score the winner against Haiti, but he was in the thick of the action that led to John McGinn scoring the decisive goal, as he very nearly scored before the number seven became Scotland's crucial hero.

Adams will be backing himself to score the goals that see Steve Clarke's men upset both Morocco and Brazil in more group games to come, with the 29-year-old helping himself to a blistering brace against Bolivia in a recent warm-up match.

Southampton fans won't hold any grudges against Adams, nearly two years on from his South Coast exit, with the striker ageing like a fine wine, as he edges towards hitting 30 next month.

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