McBurnie recalled as Pocognoli names first Scotland squad
Sebastien Pocognoli named his first Scotland squad on 15 September 2026, including Oli McBurnie and seven uncapped players for forthcoming Nations League B fixtures.
The 30-year-old McBurnie has been recalled for the first time in five years and could win his 17th Scotland cap; he first appeared for his country in 2018 and won the last of his 16 caps in 2021. McBurnie has never scored for Scotland but did convert one of the penalties in the shootout that secured a place at the delayed Euro 2020 finals.
The newcomers in Pocognoli's selection are Luis Binks, Colby Donovan, Jon McCracken, Josh McPake and Stephen Welsh, with Stoke defender Luke Graham and Sevilla forward Robbie Ure receiving their first senior call-ups. Brondby's Binks, 25, has previously represented both England and Scotland at youth level, while Donovan, 20, has come to prominence filling in for the injured Canada right-back Alistair Johnston in Celtic's side this season and, like McBurnie, has under-19 and under-21 caps.
Graham, 22, was part of Scotland's pre-World Cup training camp in May and enjoyed a breakthrough season at Dundee, winning the club's players' player and young player of the year awards; he was an unused substitute in the send-off friendly win against Curacao, which was Steve Clarke's final game. Falkirk boss McGlynn described goalkeeper Scott Bain as "ticks every box" for a Scotland start; Bain, 34, has four caps and, along with Bradford City's Jon McCracken, 26, had been involved in squads named by Clarke.
Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken was "confident" there would be a few players from the Tynecastle club included, and winger Josh McPake, 25, plus 19-year-old James Wilson, who has two caps, were selected while Calvin Miller missed out. Swansea defender Stephen Welsh, 26, may earn his first cap and the squad also contains Kieron Bowie, 23, Josh Doig, 24, and Lennon Miller, 20.
Sevilla's Robbie Ure, 22, was recruited after scoring 20 goals and providing three assists in 20 matches for Sirius, a run that led to a £5.5m summer transfer to La Liga; he has yet to score for Sevilla. Reports indicate Torino's Che Adams is injured and Rangers forward Lawrence Shankland is out for up to four months with a hamstring injury, with those absences reflected in the selection.
Scott McTominay, 29, is unavailable after recent minor heart surgery. Of the 28 players named, 14 were part of this summer's World Cup; retained squad members include goalkeepers Angus Gunn and Liam Kelly, defenders Jack Hendry, Aaron Hickey, Scott McKenna, Nathan Patterson, Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney, midfielders Ryan Christie, Lewis Ferguson, John McGinn and Kenny McLean, and forwards Findlay Curtis and Ben Gannon-Doak. Craig Gordon has retired; Grant Hanley has recently returned to fitness at Hibernian, and John Souttar has not played this season amid reports linking him with Aris Thessaloniki, while Dominic Hyam, Anthony Ralston, Tyler Fletcher, Lyndon Dykes, George Hirst and Ross Stewart were omitted.
Pocognoli will take charge of Scotland for the first time on Saturday, 26 September in the Nations League B opener against Slovenia, with his Hampden debut three days later against Switzerland; Scotland then travel to North Macedonia on 3 October before a home tie with Slovenia three days afterwards.
