Sebastien Pocognoli, the Belgian specialist and former head coach of Union Saint-Gilloise and Monaco, will name his second Scotland squad on Tuesday. The list comes ahead of two decisive matches in the Nations League, in League B1 group.
Scotland have suffered two consecutive home defeats and now need at least four points in their final two games to keep their chances of finishing at least second. They first play at home against North Macedonia, who are at the bottom of the table, before travelling to face Switzerland, the group leaders. For Scotland to qualify for the promotion play-offs, Slovenia must also drop points against both of these teams. A defeat in the first match at Hampden Park leaves the possibility that Scotland could finish bottom and be relegated to League C.
The biggest absentee from Pocognoli's first squad was Scott McTominay. The 29-year-old midfielder immediately scored two brace goals for Napoli after returning from minor heart surgery. Billy Gilmour remained unused on the bench but came on as a substitute in the win against Monza and the defeat by Juventus, becoming an automatic choice for Pocognoli, as is Lewis Ferguson, who is a regular starter for Bologna, which has won three consecutive Serie A matches. Ryan Christie started four of Bournemouth's six consecutive clean-sheet wins, while Aston Villa have lost only one game in nine, against Bournemouth, when John McGinn came off the bench rather than start.
A surprising addition to the previous squad was Kristi Montgomery, who has no caps for the national team but is a regular starter for Blackburn Rovers in the Championship. Lennon Miller rarely started on Saturday, and Udinese lost 5-2 at home to Roma, remaining winless in eight matches. Kenny McLean, 34, has played only 45 minutes as a substitute for Norwich City since withdrawing from the previous Scotland squad due to injury; he missed Saturday's win against Watford and is in doubt for Tuesday's match against Derby County.
In defence, Scott McKenna is a likely absentee as he has missed the last two matches for Dinamo Zagreb. Luis Binks played 64 minutes in Brondby's win against Aarhus after missing the previous two games. Jack Hendry of Al-Ettifaq, Stephen Welsh of Swansea City and Luke Graham of Stoke City are regular starters, with Graham helping his club to three consecutive clean sheets in the Championship and vying for his first start for Scotland. Kieran Tierney was left out of the previous squad due to injury but is again playing regularly for Celtic, while Andy Robertson, the 32-year-old national captain, started Tottenham's three consecutive wins. Josh Doig has two caps and suffered a 6-2 home defeat for Sassuolo against Lazio upon his return to the starting line-up.
Right-back is a major concern for Pocognoli. Colby Donovan of Celtic is the only regular starter at right-back, while Aaron Hickey at Brentford and Nathan Patterson at Torino are mostly substitutes. In goal, 34-year-old Scott Bain stood out in Falkirk's first win over Celtic in 19 years, while Angus Gunn, the established number one, was left on the bench for San Jose Earthquakes' win against Real Salt Lake on Saturday and was criticised for recent performances.
In attack, Lawrence Shankland of Rangers is still absent due to injury, while Che Adams is fit again and should be called up after scoring two goals in four matches for Torino. Oli McBurnie scored his first two goals of the season in Hull City's last two Premier League matches, although Hull are winless in eight games. Kieron Bowie, 24, scored the opening goal in last month's win against North Macedonia but has not scored in five matches since and was on the bench for the weekend defeat of Sassuolo. Robbie Ure scored his first two goals for Sevilla since the last international break but returned to the bench for Sunday's defeat by Getafe. James Wilson is goalless in eight matches for Heart of Midlothian, while Ben Gannon-Doak started for Bournemouth in wins against Villa and AC Milan but was unused on the bench at the weekend. Josh McPake continues to impress for Hearts, and Findlay Curtis has made several impactful appearances off the bench for Rangers.
