Aug 16 (Reuters) - Scotland have ⁠appointed Belgian Sebastien Pocognoli as head coach on ⁠an initial two-year contract, the country's FA announced ‌on Sunday.

The 39-year-old former AS Monaco manager replaces Steve Clarke and will lead the team in their Nations League campaign.

Clarke stepped down ​after guiding Scotland back to the World ⁠Cup for the first ⁠time in 28 years where they suffered a group-stage ⁠exit at ‌this year's tournament in North America.

"When I first heard of the interest, I was immediately ⁠excited about the opportunity. Scotland's supporters are ​famous for their ‌passion, most recently at the World Cup in the ⁠USA, and ​I experienced it myself as a player for Belgium when we played there in 2013," Pocognoli said in a ⁠statement.

He arrives after a brief spell at ​Monaco, where he was dismissed in June when the club finished seventh in Ligue 1 and failed to qualify ⁠for the Champions League.

Before joining Monaco, Pocognoli was named Belgian Coach of the Year after leading Union Saint-Gilloise to the league title.

The former left-back, who played for several ​clubs including Standard Liege, West Bromwich ⁠Albion and Brighton & Hove Albion, is the second foreign manager ​of the Scotland men's team ‌after German Berti Vogts, who was ​in charge from 2002 to 2004.

(Reporting by Paras J. Haji in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)