The 2023 Scottish Cup final was the final match of the 2022–23 Scottish Cup, the 138th edition of Scotland's most prestigious knockout football competition. It was contested by Celtic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden Park, Glasgow, on 3 June 2023.

Background The 2023 final was a record 60th Scottish Cup final appearance for Celtic, while it was only Inverness Caledonian Thistle's second final appearance, having won the cup in 2015. It was the first time that the clubs had met in the final, but the eighth time they had met at any stage of the competition, the most recent meeting taking place in the fifth round in the 2016–17 season. It was also the first time since 2015 that teams in different divisions had contested the final, not including the 2020 final, where Heart of Midlothian were in the unique position of being a Premiership side when the competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a Championship side when it resumed midway through the 2020–21 season.

The winners were due to enter the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League play-off round, however, as Celtic had already qualified for the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League, the team placed third in the Premiership (Aberdeen) entered the Europa League instead.

Road to the final

CelticRoundInverness Caledonian ThistleOppositionScoreOppositionScore N/A3rdStirling Albion (H)3–2Greenock Morton (H)5–04thQueen's Park (H)0–2As Queen's Park fielded an ineligible player, they were ejected from the Scottish Cup and Inverness Caledonian Thistle were reinstated.St Mirren (H)5–15thLivingston (A)3–0Heart of Midlothian (A)3–0QFKilmarnock (H)2–1Rangers (N)1–0SFFalkirk (N)3–0Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue Inverness Caledonian Thistle entered the Scottish Cup at the third round, securing their place in the fourth round by defeating Stirling Albion 3–2 at Caledonian Stadium. Celtic entered at the fourth round, with a 5–0 home victory over Greenock Morton ensuring their progression to the fifth round. Inverness Caledonian Thistle were eliminated from the competition after a 2–0 defeat to Queen's Park in their rescheduled tie, however, they were reinstated after Queen's Park were found to have fielded an ineligible player. In the fifth round, Celtic beat St Mirren 5–1 in Glasgow, with a flurry of late goals in the match, while Inverness Caledonian Thistle defeated Premiership side Livingston 3–0 at Almondvale Stadium.

Caley Thistle also faced Premiership opposition in the quarter-finals, beating Kilmarnock 2–1 in Inverness, while Celtic travelled to Tynecastle Park to face Heart of Midlothian, where they ran out 3–0 winners. The semi-finals were both played at Hampden Park, with Inverness Caledonian Thistle facing Falkirk on 29 April and Celtic taking on holders Rangers the next day. In a repeat of the 2015 final, Caley Thistle defeated Falkirk, with goals from Billy Mckay and Daniel MacKay taking the club to only the second Scottish Cup final in its history. They would also become the first and only team to have made the final, having been eliminated from the competition in the same season. On 30 April, Celtic beat Rangers, with Jota scoring the only goal of the game.

Match

Details

GK1 Joe HartRB2 Alistair JohnstonCB24 Tomoki IwataCB4 Carl StarfeltLB3 Greg TaylorCM33 Matt O'RileyCM42 Callum McGregor (c)CM41 Reo HatateRW17 JotaCF8 Kyogo FuruhashiLW38 Daizen MaedaSubstitutes:GK31 Benjamin SiegristFW9 Sead HakšabanovićFW11 Liel AbadaMF14 David TurnbullFW19 Oh Hyeon-gyuDF25 Alexandro BernabeiMF49 James ForrestDF56 Anthony RalstonDF57 Stephen WelshManager: Ange Postecoglou GK1 Mark RidgersRB2 Wallace DuffyCB6 Danny DevineCB5 Robbie DeasLB3 Cameron HarperCM18 Scott AllardiceCM8 David CarsonCM4 Sean Welsh (c)RW20 Jay HendersonCF9 Billy MckayLW22 Nathan ShawSubstitutes:GK21 Cameron MackayMF10 Aaron DoranMF12 Roddy MacGregorMF16 Lewis HydeMF17 Daniel MacKayDF23 Zak DelaneyFW24 Austin SamuelsMF28 Ben WoodsFW30 Steven BoydManager: Billy Dodds Man of the Match: Jota (Celtic)

Assistant referees: Graeme Stewart Gordon Crawford Fourth official: David Dickinson Video assistant referee: Steven McLean Gary Hilland (assistant)Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level Nine named substitutes Maximum of five substitutions in normal time (a sixth substitute is permitted in extra time)

Media coverage BBC Scotland and Viaplay Sports broadcast the final; this was the fifth season of a six-year deal in the United Kingdom to broadcast Scottish Cup matches.

References