Sebastien Pocognoli spent three days preparing for his first game at Hampden. Jack Hendry’s red card ended that plan almost before the crowd had settled. Scotland lost 3-0 to Switzerland on Tuesday night, and the result will be remembered less for the scoreline than for how quickly the game got away from them
There was real optimism around the national stadium. The appointment of a Belgian coach, only the second non-Scot in the job and the first since Berti Vogts, had been sold as a fresh start. Pocognoli signed an initial two-year deal after Steve Clarke stepped down following the World Cup exit in June. His first match, in Slovenia, brought a goalless draw that offered enough encouragement to lift the mood. Scotland were sluggish in the first half but came out transformed after the break, and only a brilliant display from Jan Oblak kept them from winning
So Hampden arrived with a sense of curiosity rather than dread. Switzerland were the test, but a manageable one. The visitors were World Cup quarter-finalists, yet Scotland had shown in Ljubljana that they could create chances and press with purpose. Another competitive showing would have been a decent way to begin a new era.
What followed instead was a disaster by the ninth minute.
Switzerland launched a counter-attack and Dan Ndoye ran onto a long ball. Hendry hauled him down as he approached the area, and Serbian referee Nenad Minakovic first pointed to the penalty spot and showed a yellow card. For a brief moment, it looked as though Scotland might escape with eleven players and a chance to save a spot-kick. VAR had other ideas. After a review, the challenge was judged to have been outside the box, the penalty was cancelled, and Hendry was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
The decision was correct on the letter of the law, but its consequences were the worst possible. A free-kick from that position, in the hands of a specialist, is often more dangerous than a penalty. Ricardo Rodriguez, the former AC Milan full-back, curled it into the top-left corner from the edge of the box in the 12th minute. Scotland were a goal and a man down with more than eighty minutes remaining.
Captain Andy Robertson’s view of the incident was telling. He said Hendry had simply been trying to get the ball, but that once the referee ruled the foul was outside the area, Scotland would have been better off with the original penalty and a booking. That is a striking thing for a captain to say. It shows just how costly the change of decision was. A penalty Switzerland might have missed became a goal they were certain to score.
Pocognoli’s own reaction was measured but clearly pained. By his account, Scotland had started on the front foot and with aggression, and the plan had to be put aside after eight minutes. He said the worst possible situation had occurred, a direct finish from the free-kick, and he admitted he would have preferred the penalty decision to stand so his side could show what they had prepared.
That admission is significant because it tells us what the team was trying to do. The aggressive, front-foot start was the point of the exercise. After a slow first half in Slovenia, the coach clearly wanted to set the tone early, pressing high and forcing Switzerland into mistakes. Whether it would have worked against a side ranked 14th in the world is impossible to say. The red card answered the question before it could really be asked.
He had also made changes to the side. Pocognoli made three alterations from the draw in Slovenia given the quick turnaround, and Kieron Bowie was among those who started. That proved an unfortunate night for the forward. With the team reduced to ten, the coach had to sacrifice an attacker for defensive cover. Stephen Welsh, the Swansea centre-back, came on in place of Bowie as Scotland looked for greater defensive balance. It is a cruel substitution for any player to suffer, and a reminder of how quickly a tactical plan can unravel when a game changes shape in its opening minutes.
It would be wrong to suggest that Scotland simply crumbled. The accounts of the match agree that the team fought hard and stayed organised for long periods. Sky’s report described a side that responded well and competed despite the numerical disadvantage. Pocognoli himself praised the attitude of his players, saying they stuck together and looked for moments on the counter-attack or from set pieces, but that Switzerland gave them nothing.
That is the honest summary. Scotland did not collapse in the way a disorganised team does. They defended with discipline, they tried to hurt Switzerland when they could, and the crowd was with them. The visitors were simply too good, too patient and too comfortable with the extra man.
There were flashes of hope and frustration at Hampden. Around the 21st minute, John McGinn appealed for a penalty, claiming he was held as a corner was delivered, but play went on. Robertson then sent the next corner over the bar. Later, when Oli McBurnie was clipped as he tried to take the ball into the box, the referee waved play on and the crowd let their feelings be known with loud boos. The match became increasingly scrappy, and Pocognoli was booked just before half-time as he showed his frustration at a series of decisions.
Those moments matter less for what they changed and more for the atmosphere they created. A home crowd that feels wronged can be an asset for a struggling team, but it can also become a source of tension. The anger at officials was understandable, given the confusion over the original penalty call, but it did not translate into goals.
Switzerland were content to manage the game after the interval, and they were rewarded quickly. Nico Elvedi got to a low cross at the near post and helped it into the far corner early in the second half. Sky’s report credits the delivery to Remo Freuler, while other accounts say it came from Ndoye. Either way, the point was the same: Scotland were cut open far too easily.
The goal in the 55th minute was the moment the match effectively ended. A side with eleven men might have found a way back from two down. A side with ten, facing opponents who had barely been troubled, had no realistic hope. Captain Robertson said afterwards that Scotland hardly touched the ball in the second half, which is a fair description of the pattern. Switzerland kept possession, moved the ball patiently and waited for the next opening.
Pocognoli responded with a triple substitution just before the hour mark. Ben Gannon-Doak, Ryan Christie and Robbie Ure came on for Nathan Patterson, Oli McBurnie and Billy Gilmour. It was an attempt to add pace and creativity and to see whether a different combination could unsettle the Swiss back line. Scotland did have one good moment earlier in the half. Gilmour released Robertson down the left, and the captain drove a low ball across the face of goal that appeared to be heading for McBurnie at the far post. It did not result in a goal, and that was as close as Scotland came to a way back into the match.
The final blow arrived late. In the 82nd minute, Burnley forward Zeki Amdouni stepped onto Ndoye’s cutback and hammered it past goalkeeper Angus Gunn. By then the big Hampden scoreboard was simply counting the minutes. One match report noted that as the clock ticked towards 93, both the players and the home supporters just wanted the night to end.
It is tempting to treat this as a one-off, a bad night caused by a single decision. There is truth in that. A red card in the first ten minutes is a disaster for any team, and few sides in the world would have taken a point from that position against opponents as good as Switzerland.
But it would be a mistake to ignore the wider context. This is a country trying to rebuild after a disappointing summer. Scotland reached the World Cup for the first time in 28 years, but scored only one goal and won only once, against Haiti, before going out in the group stage. Clarke’s departure closed a long and largely successful chapter. His successor arrives with the task of keeping what worked while building something new.
Pocognoli is a coach with an interesting profile. He guided Union Saint-Gilloise to the Belgian title before a short and difficult spell at Monaco. He was identified through a data-led approach by the Scottish FA, and this is only his third senior head coach job. That combination of a modern, analytical appointment and limited experience at the top of the game means there will be patience but also scrutiny.
The match against Switzerland does not tell us much about his methods. Nobody can judge a tactical philosophy on the basis of eighty minutes with ten men. What it does tell us is how the new regime handles adversity, and there are some encouraging signs. The team stayed together. The coach reacted quickly, reshaping the side and then making bold changes. The captain spoke with honesty and calm afterwards.
Put the two matches together and a pattern is emerging, although it is one that needs careful reading. Scotland have now played two games under Pocognoli without scoring. A goalless draw in Slovenia looked like a platform to build from. A heavy defeat at home to Switzerland has complicated the picture.
The group table makes the stakes clear. Five points behind leaders Switzerland in Group B1, Scotland are already playing catch-up. That is a hard position after just two matches, although the season is long and there is plenty of time to recover. The Swiss have also shown themselves to be a formidable side, with successive away wins in the competition and a strong defensive record.
Then there is the matter of the forwards. Pocognoli has experimented with his attack, bringing Oli McBurnie back into the squad after five years away and handing debuts to Robbie Ure and Stephen Welsh in Slovenia. The striker options are still being assessed. The first goal of his tenure is a milestone Scotland will want to reach quickly, if only to ease the pressure that comes with a run of scoreless games.
Some of the most revealing comments came from the captain. Robertson said the team had planned for three days and that all of it went out of the window, forcing a rethink on the spot. He added that he did not think Scotland would take much from the game in terms of how they want to look as a team. He also stressed that there is a new manager and a new squad, and that staying positive is essential.
That last point is worth dwelling on. Every new coach needs time, and every new squad needs to learn how to play together. The danger in international football is that the calendar does not allow for much of either. Matches come in bunches, training time is limited, and a few bad results can change the mood around a team very quickly.
Robertson’s tone suggests a dressing room that is determined to keep faith with the process. He said he is proud of how the camp has gone so far and that the team just needs results. That is the right message, but it is one that only works if the results begin to arrive soon.
Fortunately for Pocognoli, there is no time to brood. Scotland travel to North Macedonia on Saturday and then host Slovenia at Hampden next Tuesday, still searching for their first win in Nations League B1. The trip to Skopje in particular looms large. Scotland will be expected to win that game, and the pressure will be considerable.
There is an obvious parallel with what happened after the Slovenia draw. That result was encouraging in some ways, and it had raised hopes before the Switzerland match. A strong response in North Macedonia would help restore belief, and a win would settle some of the nerves. A second consecutive setback would make the return fixture with Slovenia feel far more important than it should at this stage of the campaign.
The remaining schedule also matters. North Macedonia visit Hampden on November 13, before a trip to face Switzerland on November 16. That final game offers a chance to put right what went wrong at Hampden, this time at full strength and with a more settled team.
Patience is not something football tends to reward, and it is certainly not something Scotland supporters have always been asked to show. But there is a strong case for it here.
A new coach with a different philosophy needs time to embed his ideas. One analysis of the match observed that the reminder from this result was that a seismic change in how the national team wants to play will not happen in days. That seems fair. Pocognoli wants a more proactive, front-foot approach than many expected, and that kind of style takes time to develop. It also carries more risk. A high press can leave gaps, and an aggressive defender can make the sort of error Hendry did.
It would be unfair to blame the coach for the red card. The foul was instinctive, the kind of split-second decision that Robertson described. The question is whether the team can learn from it. A side that commits to attacking football must also be disciplined in the moments that matter, and that balance is hard to find.
There are a few things to look for in the coming fixtures.
The response. How a team reacts to a heavy defeat often tells you more than the defeat itself. The performance in North Macedonia will be a strong indicator of the mood in the camp.
The finishing. Scotland created chances against Slovenia but could not score. They will need to convert more of them to start climbing the group.
The defensive discipline. The red card was a mistake, but the goals conceded in the second half came from sharp moves rather than desperate defending. Keeping a clean sheet will be a priority.
It is hard to draw firm conclusions from a game in which one side played the vast majority of the time with ten men. Switzerland are a strong team, and Scotland’s task became close to impossible within minutes. The scoreline flatters neither side, and it probably reflects the quality gap more than the tactical battle.
What matters now is how Pocognoli and his players respond. There is a squad with talent, a captain who speaks well, and a schedule that offers quick chances to put things right. There is also a coach who, by his own account, had a clear idea of how he wanted to play and was denied the chance to show it.
The early evidence is mixed rather than damning. A goalless draw and a heavy defeat make for an uncomfortable start, but the circumstances of the second game were exceptional. The real verdict will come in the weeks ahead, beginning in Skopje on Saturday. A first win would change the mood. Another difficult night would make the coming weeks a great deal harder.
For Pocognoli, Hampden was supposed to be the moment the new era began in front of its own supporters. Instead it became the first real test of his resilience. How Scotland answer it will shape how this chapter is written
