Sebastien Pocognoli is the new head coach of Scotland, and will make his debut on the bench on Saturday against Slovenia in the first match of the Nations League. The matches for Scotland in the league begin with a trip to Slovenia.
Pocognoli has named 28 players in the extended squad for the first four matches of Scotland's in the league. None of the 28 players in the extended squad have withdrawn due to injury. He succeeded Steve Clarke as head coach.
Scott McTominay was omitted from the initial selection, the 29-year-old midfielder from Napoli. McTominay is undergoing a minor heart operation, which should keep him out of action for only a few weeks. Two other players, Lawrence Shankland from Rangers and Che Adams from Torino, are out due to injury.
The first-choice goalkeeper is Angus Gunn, a regular starter for San Jose Earthquakes, who moved from Nottingham Forest in the summer. Craig Gordon, who has 84 caps and is nearing the end of his career, is also in contention. Scott Bain has been performing well for Falkirk, Jon McCracken has helped Bradford City to the top of League One since moving from Dundee, and Liam Kelly from Rangers is the only goalkeeper not playing for his club.
In attack, Oli McBurnie has been recalled, continuing to start for Hull City, a club that has returned to the Premier League. Robbie Ure has returned to the starting lineup of his new club Seville, which on Saturday lost 3-1 to Barcelona, the leading team in La Liga. James Wilson has earned a place in the first team since returning to Heart of Midlothian on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. Kieron Bowie was on the bench for Sassuolo over the weekend, as was Findlay Curtis for Rangers and 20-year-old Ben Gannon-Doak for Bournemouth.
In midfield, all seven of Pocognoli's options started during the weekend. Ryan Christie made only his second start of the season and left after 75 minutes in a match where his team lost 1-0 at home to Liverpool. Lennon Miller played in the 1-0 defeat of Udinese at home to Cagliari. Billy Gilmour scored his second senior goal in a 1-1 draw for Napoli against Fiorentina and was named man of the match. Lewis Ferguson, captain of Bologna, started every match, with the team drawing 1-1 with Torino.
The right-back position remains a problematic area for Scotland. Nathan Patterson made his second appearance as a substitute since joining Everton on loan, while Aaron Hickey came off the bench in Brentford's 3-0 win over Chelsea. Colby Donovan started for Celtic, who suffered a third consecutive defeat, with his club-mate Kieran Tierney also starting in that defeat. Andy Robertson, who started for Tottenham, saw his team lose, as did Josh Do from Sassuolo. Scott McKenna was an unused substitute in the win for Dinamo Zagreb over Lokomotiva, with Dinamo Zagreb leading the Croatian league. McKenna was the only one of Pocognelli's defensive options who did not play in his club's last match.
Billy Gilmour was the only scorer among the Scottish players over the weekend. Andy Robertson provided an assist in the defeat of Spurs, as did John McGinn of Aston Villa. Pocognoli may be looking for a creative spark from the experienced trio of Gilmour, Robertson, and McGinn.
