Scotland appoints Belgian Pocognoli as new men's football head coach

The Scottish Football Association has confirmed the appointment of Belgian coach Sebastien Pocognoli as the new head coach of Scotland's men's national team, signing a two-year deal. He replaces Steve Clarke, who left the role after the 2026 World Cup.

Who is Pocognoli?

Pocognoli, 39, spent 17 years as a professional left-back, playing in the top divisions of England — where he turned out for West Bromwich Albion and Brighton & Hove Albion — as well as Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. He earned 13 international caps for Belgium.

After retiring, he moved swiftly into coaching. His most notable achievement came at Union Saint-Gilloise, the progressive Belgian club, where he guided the team to their first Belgian league title in 90 years in the 2024-25 season. That success earned him the move to Monaco in Ligue 1. He departed Monaco at the end of the season after finishing seventh.

Only the second foreign Scotland boss

Pocognoli becomes just the second foreign manager in the history of the Scotland men's team, after German Berti Vogts. The Scottish FA described him as "one of Europe's brightest emerging coaching talents".

"When I first heard of the interest, I was immediately excited about the opportunity," Pocognoli said. "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 confirmed he had already begun extensive research into the Scotland setup and the areas where he can make an immediate impact as the team prepares for the next round of international fixtures.