sfa

Scot Gemmill has confirmed his squad for the forthcoming UEFA European Under-19 Championship Elite Round matches in Croatia later this month.

Rangers striker Ryan Hardie, who bagged a hat-trick for loan club Raith Rovers against St Mirren at the weekend, has been included In the 18-player squad, as has Celtic’s Aidan Nesbitt who recently joined Partick Thistle on loan.

Gemmill will be without Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney and Nottingham Forest winger Oliver Burke who have both been promoted to Gordon Strachan’s senior squad for the friendly match against Denmark at Hampden on 29th March as preparations for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers begin.

Scotland qualified for the elite round following wins over Latvia and Republic of Ireland in the qualifying round, and are bidding to reach their first under-19 finals in 10 years.

The group winners will progress to this summer’s finals being played in Germany in July.

Scotland Under-19 squad for the Elite Round qualifiers:

Goalkeepers
Robby McCrorie (Rangers)
Ross Doohan (Celtic)

Defenders
Sam Wardrop (Celtic)
Jack Breslin (Celtic)
Zak Jules (Reading)
Alex Iacovitti (Nottingham Forest)
Kyle Cameron (Newcastle United, on loan to York City)
Daniel Harvie (Aberdeen)
Ross McCrorie (Rangers, on loan to Ayr United)

Midfielders
Joe Thompson (Celtic)
Mark Hill (Celtic)
Ruben Sammut (Chelsea)
Aidan Nesbitt (Celtic)
Frank Ross (Aberdeen)

Forwards
Greg Kiltie (Kilmarnock)
Craig Wighton (Dundee)
Scott Wright (Aberdeen)
Ryan Hardie (Rangers)

UEFA European Under-19 Championship Elite Round fixtures:

Belgium vs Scotland | 23rd March, 12.30pm | Pomorac Kostrena, Kostrena
Scotland vs Croatia | 25th March, 4pm | Kantrida, Rijeka
Bulgaria vs Scotland | 28th March , 4pm | Pomorac Kostrena, Kostrena

John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.