SEBASTIEN POCOGNOLI has revealed his biggest frustration over Scotland’s damaging defeat to Slovenia was seeing his game plan unravel almost from the first whistle.
The Belgian insisted fatigue was not to blame for the 2-1 loss at Hampden, despite Scotland playing their fourth match in 11 days and fading badly after Ryan Christie had fired them in front.
Instead, Pocognoli’s frustration centred on the way his players drifted away from the game plan which had been drilled into them before kick-off.
Having watched his team produce an encouraging display away to North Macedonia at the weekend, the Scotland head coach had hoped to build on that result and move into a commanding position in the battle for second place in the group.
But after taking an early advantage through Christie, Scotland lost their grip on the contest and were punished as second-half goals from Aljosa Matko and Danijel Sturm turned the match on its head.
Pocognoli cut an animated figure throughout the evening and revealed afterwards that he had been unhappy long before Slovenia’s comeback.
Pocognoli saw his first international camp as head coach end in defeat at Hampden
Matko celebrates after netting Slovenia’s equaliser on Tuesday night
Pocognoli commiserates with his players after a damaging defeat at the national stadium
‘I was angry because we didn’t deliver what we expected to deliver,’ he said.
‘From the first minute we were not compact, not proactive to defend forward.
‘Many times, Slovenia players between the lines could get the ball, turn and face us, and with this speed in front of you, that can be a problem. It was that which frustrated me.’
The Belgian believes Scotland’s issues were tactical rather than physical. While some observers pointed to tired legs after a hectic international window, Pocognoli argued that poor positioning made his players appear more fatigued than they actually were.
‘I didn’t feel this,’ he said when asked if tiredness had been a factor.
‘It looks like they were tired because we were not well-positioned.
‘It was the same feeling in the first half. We were too far from the ball and just not in the right positions.
‘When you are not in the right position you have to cover double the distance.’
Ryan Christie put the Scots in front with a close-range flick in the first half
The Scotland boss was so concerned by what he saw that he used the half-time interval to reiterate the importance of maintaining shape and compactness. Rather than asking his players to retreat deeper, he wanted them to move up the pitch together and remain connected when pressing.
According to Pocognoli, the message initially got through.
‘At half-time we were just saying, “Let’s be more compact”,’ he explained.
‘Being compact doesn’t mean we are lower on the pitch. It is just to be compact and push together forward.
‘We did that and after we dropped again.’
For a brief spell after the restart Scotland looked capable of regaining control.
Pocognoli adjusted his side by pushing Billy Gilmour into more advanced areas in an attempt to improve possession and increase pressure on Slovenia higher up the park.
He felt the change was working.
Sturm fires home the winner for the visitors as the Scots capitulate after the break
‘We started well in the first 10 to 15 minutes,’ he said.
‘With Billy on the ball a little bit higher we created three 10s, so we had more control of the game and we were more proactive to press.’
However, everything unravelled once Slovenia levelled the scores.
The confidence and aggression Scotland had shown immediately after the break disappeared and, in Pocognoli’s eyes, the same mistakes from the opening period returned.
‘Then we give away the first goal and we go back to a bad feeling,’ he said.
‘We start to drop again and give them similar situations to what we faced in the first half.’
Scotland captain Andy Robertson claimed afterwards that the team had been ‘outfought and not good enough’, but Pocognoli refused to accuse his players of lacking effort.
Captain Robertson reached 101 caps but it proved to be a night to forget
Instead, he believes they were tactically outmanoeuvred.
‘I don’t think that they didn’t want to fight,’ he said.
‘That’s not the DNA of the team and we didn’t prepare the game with a feeling that it would be easy.
‘Not at all. Slovenia are a very good team.
‘We were just not… the front three from Slovenia dictated our back line and that was a little bit of a disappointment that we didn’t deal with that better.’
Pocognoli felt his side repeatedly found themselves too deep, creating gaps between defence, midfield and attack that Slovenia were quick to exploit.
‘If you are 10 metres lower then everything is bigger through the lines,’ he added.
‘We have to analyse why, but that’s for me the biggest disappointment.’
The defeat leaves Scotland three points behind Slovenia and facing an uphill task if they are to claim second place and the seeding benefits that would come with it ahead of the Euro 2028 draw.
Despite the setback, Pocognoli remains determined to take a long-term view after making bold selection decisions during his first camp in charge.
Several new faces were introduced and the Belgian believes there were still plenty of positives to take from the four-match window.
The Belgian now has a month to review his opening four matches before Scotland return to action against North Macedonia and Switzerland in November.
‘I’m always on the bigger picture because we made a selection with some strong decisions,’ he said.
‘We brought in some new faces. It was exciting to see them and they produced some good games. We experimented with things.
‘On Tuesday we saw what we need to improve and that’s also what this camp was used to do.’
While acknowledging that Scotland’s league position is far from where he wants it to be, Pocognoli insists the experience gained over the last fortnight can still prove valuable.
‘The points aspect is important,’ he said.
‘The ranking is that we are in third position with four points. That’s not where we want to be.
‘We want to combine good results with the good feeling that we had sometimes and we couldn’t deliver that.
‘If you look at the big picture, I hope this camp will make sense in the future.’
