Scot Gemmill has called 10 new players to the Scotland Under-21 squad he will be in charge of for the first time as head coach for next month’s UEFA European Championship qualifiers against Iceland (5 October) and FYR Macedonia (11 October). Scotland can't make the finals in Poland next summer, Gemmill has gone for a youthful squad for the remaining game, 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's Aidan Nesbitt and Rangers striker Ryan Hardie – all of whom have worked with Gemmill at under-17 and under-19 level.
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."
Goalkeepers
Ryan Fulton (Liverpool, on loan to Chesterfield)
Mark Hurst (St Johnstone)
Defenders
Kyle Cameron (Newcastle United, on loan to Newport County)
Alex Iacovitti (Nottingham Forest, on loan to Mansfield Town)
Zak Jules (Reading)
Jordan McGhee (Hearts, on loan to Middlesbrough)
Jake Sheppard (Reading)
Liam Smith (Hearts, on loan to Raith Rovers)
Midfielders
Chris Cadden (Motherwell)
Greg Docherty (Hamilton)
Liam Henderson (Celtic)
James Jones (Crewe Alexandra)
Aidan Nesbitt (Celtic, on loan to Morton)
Ruben Sammut (Chelsea)
Craig Storie (Aberdeen)
Forwards
Ryan Hardie (Rangers, on loan to St Mirren)
Oliver McBurnie (Swansea City)
Craig Wighton (Dundee)
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