Scotland's New Era Under Sebastien Pocognoli: Fresh Faces and Bold Moves
Sebastien Pocognoli did not ease himself into the Scotland job. He ripped up the familiar script.
Five uncapped players. A dozen World Cup squad members absent. Established names missing, new faces pushed to the front. This is not a gentle evolution. It looks like a reset.
New Era, New Faces
Robbie Ure’s name jumps off the page first. The former Rangers academy striker left Scotland to find himself, tore up the Allsvenskan with 20 goals in 20 games for Sirius, and earned a move to Sevilla. Now, at 22, he has his first full call-up and a clear runway to stake a claim in a position Scotland have wrestled with for years.
Luis Binks is another marker of change. The Brondby captain, once a Scotland Under-18, then an England youth international, now returns to the Scottish setup as a 25-year-old defender hardened by the Danish SuperLiga. Pocognoli wants ball-playing authority at the back; Binks brings it with an armband already on his CV.
Celtic’s Colby Donovan, Hearts winger Josh McPake and Swansea defender Stephen Welsh complete the group of debutants. None of them are here by accident.
Donovan has played every game for Celtic this season and steps in for club-mate Anthony Ralston, a straight swap on paper but a clear signal that form, not reputation, is the currency now. McPake’s move from St Johnstone to Hearts in the summer has sparked his career, his sharp work out wide finally rewarded at international level. Welsh, fresh from a strong loan spell at Motherwell last season and now settled at Swansea, gets the nod in a defensive group that suddenly feels younger and hungrier.
This is Pocognoli’s first squad. It already carries his fingerprints.
Big Returns, Big Absences
The new head coach has not just turned to youth. He has also reopened a door many thought was shut.
Oli McBurnie is back. The Hull City striker last pulled on a Scotland shirt in 2021. Injuries, scrutiny and a wave of criticism have followed him in the years since, but he has rebuilt his club career and forced his way into the Premier League again. Former Scotland forward James McFadden believes the recall is overdue, describing McBurnie as “definitely worth coming in and having a look at to see if he can go and make that number nine spot his own.”
McBurnie is not the only familiar face returning. Scott Bain and Jon McCracken are back among the goalkeepers after Craig Gordon’s retirement following the World Cup. Bain, now at Falkirk, and McCracken, with Bradford City, add depth behind Angus Gunn and Liam Kelly.
Billy Gilmour’s name will soothe plenty of Scottish nerves. The Napoli midfielder missed Steve Clarke’s final squad through a knee injury but has recovered in time to join Pocognoli’s first. Fit, sharp and back in Serie A, he remains central to any plan that involves Scotland controlling games rather than chasing them.
Luke Graham’s inclusion underlines the new coach’s willingness to reward momentum. The Stoke City defender, capped three times at Under-21 level, spent May in Scotland’s pre-World Cup training camp. Now, after playing every minute of Stoke’s last four Championship matches – three wins and a draw – he steps up to the senior side.
Josh Doig and Kieron Bowie, both at Sassuolo, return after spells out of the squad. So too does Lennon Miller, making waves at Udinese, and Hearts forward James Wilson, another attacking option recalled at a time when Scotland’s forward line is being rebuilt on the fly.
Yet the list of absentees is just as striking.
Scott McTominay, a Nations League and World Cup mainstay, is missing as he recovers from minor heart surgery. Rangers striker Lawrence Shankland, such a key figure domestically, is out with a hamstring issue. Che Adams at Torino is also injured.
Then come the World Cup omissions. Twelve players from that squad are not involved this time: John Souttar, Anthony Ralston, Grant Hanley, Dominic Hyam, Tyler Fletcher, Lyndon Dykes, George Hirst, Ross Stewart and others drop out of the picture, at least for now. Some are injured, some out of favour, some simply overtaken by form.
The message is blunt. Past tournaments do not guarantee future caps.
A Squad With Edges
Look closer at the full list and the shape of Pocognoli’s Scotland starts to appear.
At the back, Binks, Doig, Donovan, Graham, Jack Hendry, Aaron Hickey, Scott McKenna, Nathan Patterson, Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney and Welsh give him flexibility and aggression. Robertson, now at Tottenham, and Tierney, back at Celtic, remain the senior pillars, but there is competition everywhere.
Midfield still carries a familiar spine: Ryan Christie, Lewis Ferguson, Gilmour, John McGinn, Kenny McLean. Around them, McPake and Miller add energy and invention. It is a blend of hardened Premier League and Serie A experience with emerging talent from Italy and the Scottish Premiership.
Up front, the picture is more experimental. Bowie, Findlay Curtis, Ben Gannon-Doak, McBurnie, Ure and Wilson make up a forward line short on international caps but rich in intrigue. Ure, eligible for Ukraine through the grandparent rule, has chosen Scotland at a moment when his stock is rising. Bowie and Gannon-Doak bring pace, Curtis and Wilson offer movement and link play, and McBurnie stands as the most battle-tested of the group.
McFadden sees Ure as emblematic of this new edge. The Sevilla striker, he says, has been “brave to move away and forge a career elsewhere,” taking an “unconventional route” that has now led him back to the national team. For a country that has long searched for a reliable No 9, that kind of ambition matters.
Nations League on the Horizon
All of this is not theory. The Nations League schedule will test Pocognoli’s ideas immediately.
Scotland open away to Slovenia on 26 September, a 2pm kick-off that should give the new coach an early read on his reshaped back line. Three days later, Switzerland visit Hampden under the lights. Then comes a trip to North Macedonia on 3 October, before the return fixtures against Slovenia on 6 October and North Macedonia on 13 November. The group closes with another meeting with Switzerland on 16 November.
These are not friendlies dressed up as experiments. The Nations League has already proven its value to Scotland, both in seeding and in confidence. Pocognoli is gambling that new blood, returning talent and a sharper competitive edge can push the team further than the last cycle.
He has vowed to make Scotland fans smile. The names on this squad list suggest he is prepared to take risks to do it.
Now the question hangs over the autumn: will this bold first step ignite a new chapter, or expose just how hard it is to move on from a World Cup core that took Scotland back to the big stage?
