UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers
Iceland v Scotland
Wednesday, 5 October 2016, KO 3.30pm (local)
Víkingsvöllur, Reykjavik

FYR Macedonia v Scotland
Tuesday, 11 October 2016, KO 6.45pm (local)
Nacionalna Arena Filip II Makedonski, Skopje

 

Scot Gemmill has handed 10 players their maiden Scotland Under-21 call-ups as he named his first squad as head coach ahead of next month’s UEFA European Championship qualifiers against Iceland and FYR Macedonia.

 

 

With Scotland out of the running for a place at next summer’s finals in Poland, Gemmill has named a youthful squad for the remaining fixtures, with the majority born in 1996 or later and eligible to play in the Euro 2019 qualifiers which begin next September.

 

Included in the squad are Nottingham Forest defender Alex Iacovitti, Chelsea midfielder Ruben Sammut, Celtic playmaker Aidan Nesbitt and Rangers striker Ryan Hardie – all of whom have worked with Gemmill at under-17 and under-19 level.

 

Other new faces include Hamilton Academical midfielder Greg Docherty, Reading defender Zak Jules and Crewe Alexandra midfielder James Jones.

 

Gemmill said: “I felt it was important to give our younger players a head start at this level.

 

“We still have two matches left to play in our group and I would rather start working with players that can play in the next qualifying campaign which is less than a year away.

 

“I believe we have some very exciting young players coming through and this is an opportunity for them to test themselves at a very high level.

 

“Iceland and FYR Macedonia are both pushing for a place at next year’s finals so we know we are in for two very tough matches but I am confident the players in this squad will show what they are capable of.

 

“We have a lot of work to do between now and the start of next year’s qualifiers but I’m looking forward to meeting up with the squad on Sunday and getting started.”

Scotland Under-21 squad:

Goalkeepers

Ryan Fulton (Liverpool, on loan to Chesterfield)
Mark Hurst (St Johnstone, on loan to East Fife)

Defenders

Kyle Cameron (Newcastle United, on loan to Newport County)
Alex Iacovitti (Nottingham Forest, on loan to Mansfield Town)
Zak Jules (Reading)
Calum MacDonald (Derby County)
Jordan McGhee (Heart of Midlothian, on loan to Middlesbrough)
Jake Sheppard (Reading)
Liam Smith (Heart of Midlothian, on loan to Raith Rovers) - withdrawn

Midfielders

Liam Burt (Rangers)
Chris Cadden (Motherwell) - withdrawn
Greg Docherty (Hamilton Academical)
Liam Henderson (Celtic)              
James Jones (Crewe Alexandra)
Aidan Nesbitt (Celtic, on loan to Greenock Morton)
Ruben Sammut (Chelsea)
Craig Storie (Aberdeen)

Forwards
 
Ryan Hardie (Rangers, on loan to St Mirren)
Oliver McBurnie (Swansea City)
Craig Wighton (Dundee)

Last updated: Sunday, 2 October 2016