Billy Gilmour is set to win his 50th Scotland cap when Sebastien Pocognoli’s side host Slovenia in Nations League Group B1 on Tuesday. The 25-year-old Napoli midfielder has started all three games under the new head coach, who has asked him to play further forward than he did under Steve Clarke.
The Ayrshire-born player has kept the landmark low-key, saying that “overall, it’s another game” and that his focus is on a good performance and a win. He did admit to some excitement, and this week the juvenile club Ardrossan Winton Rovers named a stand after him as part of his sponsorship deal with his old local side.
Chelsea took Gilmour from the Rangers academy at 16, just as he was about to break into the Ibrox first team, and he made his Premier League debut two years later. A serious knee injury and a difficult loan at Norwich City held him back before he rebuilt his confidence at Brighton & Hove Albion. He joined Napoli at the same time as Scott McTominay and won Serie A in his first season, but a groin problem around the turn of the year was followed by a knee injury in the final warm-up friendly that ruled him out of this summer’s World Cup.
Pocognoli wants Gilmour to influence games higher up the pitch, in the kind of positions McTominay, who has been absent through illness, took up under Clarke. Gilmour set up Sassuolo striker Kieron Bowie for the opening goal in Saturday’s 2-0 win in North Macedonia, the Belgian’s first victory in charge, and Pocognoli said the midfielder links the defence with the forward line. Slovenia counterpart Bostjan Cesar is also an admirer, saying Gilmour “was the engine of his team” at Napoli last season.
The game in Skopje was also captain Andy Robertson’s 100th cap, an achievement Gilmour called incredible. Having been the youngest in the squad when Clarke gave him his debut in 2021, Gilmour now sees himself as one of the experienced players helping the new faces Pocognoli has brought in. He said Scotland were playing on the front foot and creating chances, even if they had not taken as many as they would like, and that the fans were getting excited, although he stressed it was still early.
