Sebastien Pocognoli confirmed as Scotland head coach on two-year deal

He succeeds Steve Clarke in the role

Who is Sebastien Pocognoli?

Pocognoli built his reputation at Union Saint-Gilloise, taking the senior job in 2024, winning the Belgian Super Cup almost immediately and delivering the club’s first league title since 1935.

Monaco came calling the following October, but he finished seventh in his sole Ligue 1 season and was sacked in June.

A left-back for 17 years in England, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, he had spells at West Bromwich Albion and Brighton & Hove Albion and won 13 caps for his country, BBC Sport reported.

It makes him an unusually raw appointment among international managers at the top of the game, two years after his first senior job.

“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”, Pocognoli said.

Pocognoli, who singled out the Scotland support at the World Cup in the USA, says he has been “doing a lot of research” since talks began and has pledged to build on “the success that has been achieved already by my predecessor”.

He favours an attacking 3-4-1-2 system; his first squad selection will be the earliest sign of how he intends to set Scotland up.