Oli McBurnie Returns to Scotland Squad Under New Coach Pocognoli

Oli McBurnie is back in dark blue. Five years after his last cap and still searching for a first international goal, the Hull City striker has been recalled as the headline pick in Sebastien Pocognoli’s first Scotland squad.

Around him, a new era has a distinctly fresh edge.

Pocognoli rings the changes

The new head coach has wasted no time reshaping the group he has inherited from Steve Clarke. Alongside McBurnie, uncapped quintet Luis Binks, Colby Donovan, Jon McCracken, Josh McPake and Stephen Welsh all step into the senior set-up for the first time.

As widely anticipated, Stoke City defender Luke Graham and Sevilla forward Robbie Ure receive their maiden call-ups too, rewarded for sharp club form and growing reputations.

Che Adams, though, is missing. Reports of an injury at Torino cast a shadow over his availability, and the inclusion of a cluster of forwards – McBurnie, Ure, Kieron Bowie and James Wilson – underlines how Pocognoli has chosen to move quickly in response.

McBurnie’s second chance

McBurnie, now 30, first broke into the national side in 2018 and has 16 caps, the last of them in 2021. He has never scored for Scotland, a statistic that has hung over every discussion of his international career, yet his contribution to one of the country’s landmark moments is hard to forget: a nerveless penalty in the shootout that carried Scotland to the delayed Euro 2020 finals.

This recall offers a reset. A striker in his prime, a new manager looking for solutions, and a forward line in flux with Adams sidelined. The stakes are obvious.

New blood at the back

At the other end of the pitch, Pocognoli has turned to defenders who have been forcing their way into the conversation.

Luis Binks, 25, now at Brondby, has worn the colours of both England and Scotland at youth level. His inclusion signals a decisive move to secure his senior allegiance. Colby Donovan, just 20, has emerged at Celtic this season, stepping in impressively for injured Canada right-back Alistair Johnston. Like McBurnie, he has already been tested at under-19 and under-21 level.

Luke Graham’s rise continues. After a breakthrough season with Dundee, where he swept the players’ player and young player of the year awards, he joined Scotland’s pre-World Cup training camp in May and sat on the bench for the send-off win over Curacao – Clarke’s final match in charge at Hampden Park. Now 22 and ever-present in a Stoke City side unbeaten in their last four Championship games, he finally gets his full call.

Stephen Welsh of Swansea City also steps into the senior squad with the chance to earn his first cap, another sign that the defensive pecking order is being actively reshuffled.

Goalkeepers and familiar faces

In goal, there is a blend of old and new. Falkirk’s Scott Bain, capped four times, returns after previous involvement under Clarke. He is joined by Bradford City’s Jon McCracken, another keeper who has been on the radar of the former regime and now gets a fresh look under Pocognoli.

Kieron Bowie, Josh Doig, Lennon Miller and James Wilson are all recalled as well. Each has been around the squad picture before; now they return into a camp that feels subtly but unmistakably different.

Hearts rewarded, but not all

Heart of Midlothian head coach Wouter Vrancken had spoken confidently about seeing some of his Tynecastle players in this squad. He was right.

Winger Josh McPake is in, his early-season form recognised alongside that of attacking team-mate James Wilson, who already has two caps. Their inclusion gives Hearts a visible presence in the new set-up, a nod to the club’s attacking output in recent months.

Calvin Miller, however, misses out, a reminder that competition for wide roles is tightening under Pocognoli.

Midfield craft and a race for allegiance

Lennon Miller, operating in midfield for Udinese, is named as part of a group that suggests Pocognoli wants more technical security and energy in the centre of the pitch. Josh Doig, the left-back now at Sassuolo, also makes the cut, offering balance on the flank and another option in systems that demand attacking full-backs.

Up front, Robbie Ure’s story stands out. A former Rangers academy forward, he exploded in Sweden with Sirius, scoring 20 goals and adding three assists in 20 matches to fire them to the top of the table. That form triggered a £5.5m move to Sevilla in the summer. The 22-year-old has yet to score in La Liga, but his potential is clear.

There is another layer here. Ure is eligible for Ukraine. Calling him up now feels like a deliberate move from Pocognoli to secure his international future early, just as he did by bringing in Binks and doubling down on Donovan.

Kieron Bowie, the Sassuolo attacker, joins the forward pool alongside McBurnie, Ure and Wilson, completing a front line that looks very different to the one that carried Scotland through recent campaigns.

A new direction

This is not a tentative first squad. Pocognoli has blended recalls, rewards for form and strategic moves over dual-nationality players into a list that carries a clear message: reputations alone will not hold, and the door is wide open for those in form.

McBurnie’s return, Ure’s fast-tracked promotion, Binks’ commitment, Donovan’s rise, Graham’s breakthrough – together they signal the start of a new cycle.

Now comes the only test that matters: can this reshaped group turn promise and potential into results, and push Scotland into the next phase of its evolution under a new man in the dugout?