Sebastien Pocognoli names first Scotland squad as new head coach | OneFootball

Innes Taylor, Scottish Football Correspondent

Sebastien Pocognoli has named his first Scotland squad since being appointed as the national team’s head coach for the upcoming Nations League fixtures. The squad announcement has been highly anticipated since the Belgian replaced long-standing manager Steve Clarke, with fans desperate for a new freshness in the National Team.

Their calls have seemingly been answered with Pocognoli naming a larger squad of 28 first-team players, while handing first full call-ups to the likes of Sevilla’s Robbie Ure and Hearts’ Josh McPake.

He has also made the decision to recall Oli McBurnie after his impressive start to the season with Hull City in the Premier League, with the Tigers unbeaten in four, sitting fourth in the league table, with the striker starting all four games. McBurnie had been involved in Steve Clarke’s early squads, but had not received a call up for over five years.

Scotland Squad

Scott Bain Falkirk Angus Gunn San Jose Earthquakes Liam Kelly Rangers Jon McCracken Bradford City

Defenders

Luis Binks Brondby Josh Doig Sassuolo Colby Donovan Celtic Luke Graham Stoke City Jack Hendry Al Ettifaq Aaron Hickey Brentford Scott McKenna Dinamo Zagreb Nathan Patterson Torino Andy Robertson Tottenham Hotspur Kieran Tierney Celtic Stephen Welsh Swansea City

Midfielders

Ryan Christie AFC Bournemouth Findlay Curtis Rangers Lewis Ferguson Bologna Ben Gannon-Doak AFC Bournemouth Billy Gilmour Napoli Lennon Miller Udinese Kenny McLean Norwich City John McGinn Aston Villa Josh McPake Heart of Midlothian

Forwards

Kieron Bowie Sassuolo Oli McBurnie Hull City Robbie Ure Sevilla James Wilson Heart of Midlothian

Analysis

Poscognoli has certainly freshened things up squad wise, bringing the average age of the squad down considerably, and leaving out some of Steve Clarke’s regulars. The likes of Grant Hanley and Lyndon Dykes were major players during Clarke’s tenure in charge of the national team, but have been left out of the squad entirely by the new man in the dugout.

Instead, he has seemingly done what Scotland fans have been asking for – revamped the national team.

Poscognoli has introduced an incredible fourteen players who did not feature in the squad taken to the World Cup this summer, with seven players who are still eligible at under-21 level, showing a clear aim to look towards the future.

New faces include defenders Stephen Welsh (Swansea) and Luis Binks (Brondby), alongside Luke Graham (Stoke) and Colby Donovan (Celtic).

In the attacking areas, Hearts pair Josh McPake and James Wilson have earned call-ups after strong starts to the season for the Tynecastle club.

Scotland will travel to Slovenia in their Nations League B opener on the 26th of September and then host Switzerland in Pocognoli’s first game at Hampden on the 29th. Scotland will then play North Macedonia away before Slovenia at home completes the extended international break.