Key questions as Pocognoli prepares to name Scotland squad
Sebastien Pocognoli will name his second Scotland squad on Tuesday as he faces a major test early in his tenure following back-to-back home Nations League defeats, with Scott McTominay and Che Adams among players who could return.
Scotland enter the final two matches of League B1 knowing they must take at least four points at home to bottom-placed North Macedonia and away to table-topping Swiss to retain any chance of finishing second; even then they require Slovenia to slip up against both those sides. Lose the first game at Hampden and the possibility of finishing bottom — and relegation to League C — remains on the table.
Scott McTominay, the major omission from Pocognoli’s first selection, is expected to be high on the list after the 29-year-old immediately scored two doubles for Napoli following his comeback from minor heart surgery. Billy Gilmour was left unused on the bench while his countryman made his hero's return before coming on as a substitute in their win over Monza and weekend defeat by Juventus; Gilmour has nevertheless become an automatic choice under Pocognoli alongside Lewis Ferguson.
Ferguson is a mainstay of a Bologna side that has won three successive games in Serie A, while Ryan Christie has started four of Bournemouth's six straight victories without conceding. A surprise addition to the last squad, uncapped Kristi Montgomery remains a regular starter with Championship rivals Blackburn Rovers.
Lennon Miller made a rare start on Saturday but could not prevent a 5-2 home defeat by Roma that leaves Udinese without a win in eight. Kenny McLean has only played 45 minutes as a substitute for Norwich City since pulling out of the last Scotland squad through injury, missed Saturday's win over Watford and is a doubt to face Derby County on Tuesday.
Scott McKenna has missed Dinamo Zagreb's past two games and has been ruled out for the next two weeks by the Croatian champions, while Luis Binks played 64 minutes of Brondby's win over Aarhus after missing their previous two games. Jack Hendry, Swansea City's Stephen Welsh and Stoke City's Luke Graham are all regular starters, with Graham helping his Championship side to three unbeaten games without conceding as he pushes for a first Scotland start.
Kieran Tierney, who dropped out of the last squad through injury, is back playing regularly with Celtic albeit in a defence described as looking increasingly vulnerable, and Andy Robertson has started Tottenham Hotspur's three straight wins despite the 32-year-old national captain not finishing too many games these days. Josh Doig's hopes of displacing either left-back were harmed by a 6-2 thrashing for Sassuolo at home to Lazio on his return to the starting line-up, and right-back remains a concern with Celtic's Colby Donovan the one regular starter while Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson are used mainly as substitutes for Brentford and Torino respectively.
Scott Bain's heroics in Falkirk's first win over Scottish champions Celtic in 19 years were timely for goalkeeper contention and the 34-year-old was almost always likely to retain his place given Scotland's lack of back-up in goal; established number one Angus Gunn was left on the bench for San Jose Earthquakes's win over Real Salt Lake on Saturday after some criticism of recent performances. With Rangers' Lawrence Shankland still missing through injury, Che Adams should be in line for recall after two goals in four games for Torino, while Oli McBurnie scored his first two goals of the season in Hull City's latest two Premier League games albeit they are now eight games without a win.
Kieron Bowie opened the scoring in last month's win over North Macedonia but has not scored in five games and was on the bench for Sassuolo's weekend thrashing, Robbie Ure has scored his first two Sevilla goals since the last international break though he was back on the bench for Sunday's defeat by Getafe, and James Wilson has gone eight games without a goal for Heart of Midlothian. If Pocognoli's formation allows for wingers, Ben Gannon-Doak started for Bournemouth in wins over Villa and AC Milan, Josh McPake continues to impress with Hearts, and Findlay Curtis has made impactful cameos for Rangers; Decisions, decisions but the starting line-up is probably more difficult than a squad that almost picks itself.
Pocognoli will name his squad on Tuesday ahead of Scotland's final two Nations League fixtures — the home game against North Macedonia at Hampden and the away match against Switzerland.
