Aaron Hickey Named in First Scotland Squad Under Sébastien Pocognoli

Aaron Hickey has been named as part of Sébastien Pocognoli’s first Scotland squad as head coach, ahead of their four Nations League fixtures through in September and October.

The Brentford defender is part of an extended 28-man group selected by Scotland’s new head coach, who has made significant changes following Scotland’s failure to make it out of their World Cup group under Steve Clarke.

Scotland willl begin their Nations League campaign away to Slovenia on September 26 before hosting Switzerland just three days later. They then travel to North Macedonia on October 3 and finish the international window at home again, facing Slovenia on October 6.

For Hickey, another international call-up continues a much more positive period after injury interrupted so much of the previous few years.

The 24-year-old spent 659 days without a first-team appearance following the serious hamstring injury he suffered against Chelsea in October 2023, eventually returning for Brentford in August 2025.

The Scotland international went on to make 26 appearances for the Bees last season, but another hamstring problem towards the end of February briefly put his World Cup hopes in doubt. Hickey missed Scotland’s March internationals and was also unavailable for some of their preparations before the tournament.

He recovered in time to make Steve Clarke’s final World Cup squad and started Scotland’s opening game against Haiti.

Hickey played 75 minutes of the 1-0 victory in Boston, producing an important last-ditch challenge before half-time, but his tournament was then disrupted by another injury picked up during the game.

He missed the defeat to Morocco and remained unavailable for the final group match against Brazil, bringing an early end to what had initially looked like a positive return to the international stage.

His inclusion in Scotland’s latest squad is therefore another encouraging step after a summer in which injury again interrupted his momentum. Hickey had returned to playing fitness readyfor the Bees' pre-season and has since been working his way back into a starting role in the squad.

Michael Kayode began Brentford’s first Premier League matches of the season and taking up the majority of the minutes at right-back. Hickey came off the bench against Tottenham and Leeds, played the second half of the draw with Sunderland, with Keith Andrews praising the changes he had made at half time for the influencer on Brentford's performance. Hickey was rewarded for that performance with his first Premier League start of the campaign, in the Bees' 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.

Hickey had already completed 90 minutes in Brentford’s 6-1 Carabao Cup victory over Birmingham City, giving Andrews another option as competition for places develops on both sides of defence.

After several seasons in which Hickey’s progress was repeatedly interrupted by fitness problems, the early weeks of 2026/27 have instead been about accumulating minutes.

Another Scotland call-up now gives him the opportunity to continue that progress at international level, this time under a new manager as Pocognoli begins shaping the side that will follow Scotland’s return to the World Cup.