Sebastien Pocognoli will make his debut as Scotland head coach when his side face Slovenia on Saturday, the opening match of a run of four Nations League fixtures. The new head coach named an extended squad of 28 players for the games, and so far none of them have pulled out through injury following the final round of club matches.
Pocognoli’s first selection was without Scott McTominay, a notable absence from the original squad. The 29-year-old Napoli midfielder underwent what he described as minor heart surgery and is expected to be sidelined for only a few weeks. Scotland are also without Rangers’ Lawrence Shankland and Torino’s Che Adams in the forward line because of injury.
The goalkeeping department had been a problem for some time under predecessor Steve Clarke, not helped by 84-cap Craig Gordon coming towards the end of his career and the alternatives often having limited playing time. The picture now looks brighter for Pocognoli: current first-choice Angus Gunn is a regular starter for San Jose Earthquakes after his summer switch from Nottingham Forest. Scott Bain is performing well for Falkirk, and Jon McCracken has helped Bradford City to the top of League One after his move from Dundee. Rangers’ Liam Kelly is the only goalkeeper in the squad not playing for his club.
The absences of Shankland and Adams have created openings among the forwards, and the recalled Oli McBurnie continues to start for Hull City on their return to the Premier League. Robbie Ure was back in the starting line-up for his new club Sevilla as they lost 3-1 to La Liga leaders Barcelona on Saturday. James Wilson has cemented a first-team place since returning to Heart of Midlothian from a loan at Tottenham Hotspur. However, striker Kieron Bowie and wingers Findlay Curtis and Ben Gannon-Doak had to settle for substitute appearances for Sassuolo, Rangers and Bournemouth respectively. Gannon-Doak’s continued lack of minutes is not ideal, with the 19-year-old having proved a key provider of pace to Scotland’s play.
All seven of Pocognoli’s central midfield options started at the weekend. Lennon Miller started in Udinese’s 1-0 home defeat by Cagliari. In Serie A, Billy Gilmour scored only his second senior goal with a fine strike in Napoli’s 1-1 draw away to Fiorentina and was named man of the match. Lewis Ferguson is back starting every game as Bologna captain, including their 1-1 draw with Torino. Ryan Christie was handed only his second start of the season, a boost for the midfielder, though he came off after 75 minutes of a 1-0 home defeat by Liverpool.
Right-back remains a problem area for Scotland. Nathan Patterson made his second appearance as a substitute since his loan move from Everton, while Aaron Hickey had to come off the bench in Brentford’s 3-0 win over Chelsea. Colby Donovan did start again, though the Scottish champions suffered a third straight defeat. All three left-backs – Kieran Tierney, Andy Robertson and Sassuolo’s Josh Doig – suffered losses after starting. Scott McKenna was the only one of Pocognoli’s defensive options not to play in his club side’s latest game, remaining an unused substitute as Croatian league leaders Dinamo Zagreb beat Lokomotiva.
Gilmour was the only weekend goalscorer in the squad, while Robertson and Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn provided an assist each in Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-2 defeat. Pocognoli could look to that experienced trio of Gilmour, Robertson and McGinn to provide the creative spark for the Nations League matches, starting away to Slovenia on Saturday.