Scotland hold Slovenia to goalless draw in Pocognoli's debut as head coach

Pocognoli begins Scotland tenure with goalless draw

Belgian head coach Sébastien Pocognoli started his tenure in charge of Scotland with a 0-0 draw against Slovenia at the Stožice Stadium in Ljubljana in their Nations League Group B1 opener. The 39-year-old former Union Saint-Gilloise and Monaco manager was appointed in August as the successor to Steve Clarke, whose seven-year spell ended after Scotland exited the World Cup following a loss to Brazil 94 days earlier. Pocognoli prepared his squad at a training camp in La Manga before selecting an attack-minded formation that included international debuts for Swansea defender Stephen Welsh and Sevilla forward Robbie Ure. Hull City striker Oli McBurnie returned to the national side after five years away to earn his 17th cap, forming a new front pairing with Ure in front of around 1,000 travelling Scottish supporters.

Slovenia dominate opening half before Ure hits post

Slovenia controlled the opening 45 minutes as Scotland struggled with structure and pressing positioning. In the eighth minute, home winger Danijel Šturm delivered a ball to Andraž Šporar on the edge of the penalty area, whose first-time strike hit the crossbar and entered the net before being disallowed for offside. Šporar missed the target from close range six minutes later from another Šturm delivery, and Aljoša Matko sent an opportunity wide just after the half-hour mark. Slovenia threatened again in the 33rd minute when defender Vanja Drkušić met an Erik Janža corner with a near-post header that clipped the outside of the woodwork. Scotland mounted their first significant attack three minutes before the interval when Ure cut inside from the right flank and struck the base of the post with a low left-footed shot.

Oblak denies second-half Scottish resurgence

Scotland emerged after the interval with greater cohesion and took control of possession following tactical adjustments in midfield. Billy Gilmour registered the match's first shot on target in the 59th minute, forcing a sharp save from Slovenia captain and Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak. McBurnie created Scotland's clearest scoring chance when he dispossessed a defender on the edge of the penalty box, but Oblak blocked his attempt to round the goalkeeper. Oblak denied McBurnie again in the 74th minute by stopping a close-range header, while wing-back Aaron Hickey headed narrowly wide and substitute Kieron Bowie fired a powerful shot past the post. Pocognoli addressed the contrast between the two halves after the final whistle.

First half, was not what we expected in terms of structure. We were in between for the press, actually we were a little bit surprised about the formation of Slovenia, but at half-time we fixed this and you can see that the second half was much better.

Group B1 standings and upcoming schedule

The result leaves both Scotland and Slovenia with one point each in Group B1, while extending Slovenia's winless record against Scotland to six matches, consisting of four draws and two defeats. Both sides contested the fixture without key attacking players, as Scotland missed midfielder Scott McTominay and Slovenia played without forward Benjamin Šeško. Scotland continue their four-match international window by hosting group favourites Switzerland at Hampden Park on Tuesday. Pocognoli's side will then travel to play North Macedonia on 3 October before concluding the window with a home match against Slovenia in Glasgow on 6 October.