Sebastien Pocognoli has been appointed as the new Scotland head coach on a two-year deal, with the 39-year-old expressing his delight at leading a new era for the national team.
The former USG and Monaco boss, who will lead the team until the conclusion of Euro 2028, revealed the Tartan Army left a profound effect on him with their exploits at the World Cup in the USA this summer.
Pocognoli's Excitement and Preparation
Speaking on the Scottish FA website, Pocognoli said: “It’s an honour to be asked to become the Head Coach of the Scotland National Team. When I first heard of the interest, I was immediately excited about the opportunity. Scotland’s supporters are famous for their passion – most recently at the World Cup in the USA - and I have experienced it myself as a player for Belgium when we played in 2013.”
He added: “Along with my coaching staff, I will do everything I can to give them a team to be proud of and build on the success that has been achieved already by my predecessor. Since negotiations began, I have been doing a lot of research, asking a lot of questions and looking at areas that we can build on. I am hugely excited by the prospect and look forward to working with the players to achieve even more success.”
Nations League Campaign Ahead
Pocognoli will start with a quadruple-header in the UEFA Nations League, with fixtures against Slovenia, Switzerland, and North Macedonia. He said: “We don’t have long until the first camp, so the coming weeks will be spent preparing for the UEFA Nations League and putting those plans into action on the training pitch when we meet up next month.”
Scottish FA Chief's Praise
Ian Maxwell, Scottish FA chief executive, hailed Pocognoli as the “standout candidate” from a thorough process. He said: “We are delighted to have Sébastien on board. He was the standout candidate from a thorough process: a very impressive individual, with a real desire to take on the role and a clear vision for how he wants to go about it. Sébastien inherits a talented squad who just took us to a first FIFA World Cup in 28 years, and I’d like to reiterate my thanks to Steve Clarke and his staff for their work and the foundations they’ve put in place. I’m excited to see how we build on that ahead of a new UEFA Nations League campaign.”
