Slovenia 0-0 Scotland: Scots held to goalless draw in Sebastien Pocognoli's first game as manager
Report as Scotland are held to a 0-0 draw away to Slovenia in their opening League B Group 1 match in the UEFA Nations League; Sebastien Pocognoli sees his side pick up a point in his first game in charge since taking over from Steve Clarke as manager
Saturday 26 September 2026 17:56, UK
Sebastien Pocognoli had to make do with a point as Scotland were held to a 0-0 Nations League draw away to Slovenia in his first game in charge.
Robbie Ure struck the post in the first half in Ljubljana, with Oli McBurnie and Kieron Bowie spurning excellent opportunities to score after the break in Scotland's opening League B Group 1 fixture.
Andraz Sporar thought he had given Slovenia an early lead with a brilliant finish, only to see the goal disallowed after Danijel Sturm strayed offside in the build-up.
Vanja Drkusic went close for the home side after getting in front of Scotland debutant Ure at a corner, but his near-post header hit the outside of the post.
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Ure hit the woodwork himself with Scotland's best chance in the opening period, with his drilled effort beating Jan Oblak and clipping the outside of the far post on the stroke of half-time.
Oliver McBurnie should have scored in the second half, but he tried to round the goalkeeper rather than shoot, with Oblak reading his intentions and stopping him dead in his tracks.
Billy Gilmour then drew a fabulous one-handed save from Oblak before Aaron Hickey headed wide from a corner.
Bowie should have won it for the visitors late on but could only drag his shot from the edge of the area wide as Scotland had to settle for a point in their Nations League opener.
The key moments
8: SLOVENIA GOAL RULED OUT! Sporar finishes brilliantly after Scotland are cut open far too easily. However, there was a clear offside on Sturm in the build-up.
11: CHANCE! Scotland undone in behind again! Matko cuts it back to Sturm, but Hendry is across well to make a crucial tackle.
14: HUGE MISS! Sporar tries to guide the ball into the far corner but doesn't make the contact required and Matko can't follow it in either!
33: CLOSE! Drkusic gets on the end of a corner at the near post, but his header comes off the woodwork!
45: OFF THE POST! Nearly a dream debut for Ure. He uses the run on the overlap to create space for a shot from about 22 yards out that bounces off the post and goes wide.
51: CHANCE! McBurnie gets onto a loose ball and finds himself one-on-one with Oblak. He could shoot around Oblak, but instead tries to knock the ball past him and tap into an empty net. Oblak reads it though and stops him dead in his tracks.
59: SAVE! Beautiful one-two from McBurnie and Gilmour allows the latter a chance to find the far corner. Again though, Oblak refuses to be beaten as he uses his big frame to keep it out.
78: MISS! Gilmour finds Bowie with an excellent pass. There is no one around him and he just needs to find the net, but he inexplicably drags his effort wide!
Pocognoli: Scotland had to suffer together
Scotland manager Sebastien Pocognoli:
"The last feeling in the dressing room some minutes ago was positive because we had a good second half.
"We faced what we expected, a really aggressive Slovenia team but we were a little bit surprised about the shape.
"It looked like a back five, but it was actually a back four when they were on the ball. Because of that we really struggled to find a way to press so we were quite deep and low on the pitch. That meant we suffered.
"But what we learned from the first half was that we had to defend the box well - to be resilient and to just suffer together. I think it's nice to have a moment like this also, when a new gaffer starts.
"We conceded a lot of set-pieces that we had practised for. After five minutes we needed everything that we had practised and we did it well. We created two chances of our own, but Slovenia were more dominant.
"So at half-time we adjusted one or two things and we were much better with two sixes and two 10s. It helped us to press higher up the pitch and was better for the counter press because we were not running everywhere.
"In my opinion it was a very good second half. We created chances that we maybe should have scored.
"But it was a good counter press, with a good, high defensive line and good communication on the pitch. I could see the players enjoyed the second half.
"At the end, it's a clean sheet and that's also positive for the defenders. But I hope we can produce in the next game what we produced in the second half today."
Scotland's Nations League fixtures
- September 29 - Switzerland (H) 7.45pm
- October 3 - North Macedonia (A) 7.45pm
- October 6 - Slovenia (H) 7.45pm
- November 13 - North Macedonia (H) 7.45pm
- November 16 - Switzerland (A) 7.45pm
