{"id":10102,"date":"2026-10-07T09:58:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T09:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportbulletin.top\/?p=10102"},"modified":"2026-10-07T09:58:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T09:58:30","slug":"scotland-what-did-we-learn-from-sebastian-pocognolis-first-four-nations-league-games-in-charge-football-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportbulletin.top\/?p=10102","title":{"rendered":"Scotland: What did we learn from Sebastian Pocognoli’s first four Nations League games in charge? | Football News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Following Steve Clarke\u2019s resignation as national team head coach, there was a thirst from Scotland fans for change.<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, they got revolution. On the pitch, evolution, in flashes.<\/p>\n

Sebastien Pocognoli’s football is – in essence – what he promised it to be. Front-foot, attacking and aggressive.<\/p>\n

However, perhaps not in the same way that everyone assumed when a fresh faced 39-year-old walked through the doors of Hampden Park as the Tartan Army’s symbol of the modern progressive game.<\/p>\n

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Scotland head coach Sebastien Pocognoli reflects on the 2-1 Nations League defeat to Slovenia and where they need to improve going forward<\/span>
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In his first camp as Scotland boss, we were privy to the good (North Macedonia away), the bad (Switzerland at home), and the ugly (Slovenia at home).<\/p>\n

Slovenia away was somehow all of the above in one game.<\/p>\n

Aside from the convoluted, yet potentially damaging, implications for seeding for Euro 2028 qualification, here are three things we have learned from Pocognoli’s first four matches in charge.<\/p>\n

Worries at wing-back<\/h3>\n
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\n \"Pocognoli,\n <\/div>
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\n Pocognoli, Steve Clarke, Gordon Strachan and Alex McLeish presented Andy Robertson with a special jersey
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The back three is back.<\/p>\n

The formation which served predecessor Clarke so well in the early days of his Scotland tenure was Pocognoli’s preferred shape at Monaco and Union Saint-Gilloise – so this comes as no real surprise.<\/p>\n

The contention lies not in its deployment, but its functionality.<\/p>\n

On paper, it makes sense. The squad has been starved of wingers and feasted on full-backs for almost a decade.<\/p>\n

However, with 20-year-old rising star Ben Gannon-Doak as well as Josh McPake and Findlay Curtis all included in the squad, the question was where would Scotland’s creative wide players all fit in.<\/p>\n

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\n Findlay Curtis came off the bench at Hampden Park after being recalled from the U21s
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Gannon-Doak started both of Scotland’s final two matches at wing-back with captain, and now centurion, Andy Robertson operating on the opposite flank.<\/p>\n

With a natural winger on one side and a full-back on the other, the asymmetry of the new shape should, in theory, make Scotland more elastic. Yet a lack of deep runners made them look more rigid.<\/p>\n

When the Scotland boss flipped to a back four in the closing stages of Tuesday’s dismal defeat to Slovenia, Curtis and McPake immediately looked more threatening than the players they replaced as out-and-out wingers.<\/p>\n

Fluster in the front line<\/h3>\n
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\n \"Ryan\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Ryan Christie gave Scotland the lead at Hampden
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The only distinct tinkering in Pocognoli’s starting system came in attack.<\/p>\n

The new head coach used a 3-5-2 in his first three matches – with McGinn in behind two No 9s – before switching to a 3-4-2-1 against Slovenia as McGinn and Ryan Christie provided support for Oli McBurnie as two No 10s.<\/p>\n

While McBurnie, Kieron Bowie and Robbie Ure all impressed at different points throughout the camp, there may only be room for one to start in Scotland’s strongest team going forward.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Oli\n <\/div>
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\n Oli McBurnie (left) made a Scotland return after eight years
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Talisman John McGinn – whose penalty against North Macedonia moved him level with Lawrie Reilly as the country’s fourth-highest scorer of all time – will surely partner returning hero Scott McTominay in that area next month once the Napoli star fully recovers from minor heart surgery.<\/p>\n

McTominay and McGinn have been a dangerous double act for the best part of a decade now, so they almost have to start. But will that change be made to suit personnel or suit the team?<\/p>\n

The Gilmour Gambit<\/h3>\n
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\n \"Billy\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Billy Gilmour is back in the Scotland squad after missing the World Cup with injury
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Central to the Pocognoli press is reimagined Napoli midfielder Billy Gilmour.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old – who earned his 50th cap on Tuesday – has transitioned from quarterback to seeker.<\/p>\n

Primarily a deep-lying playmaker with outstanding press-beating qualities, the former Chelsea man was deployed in a more advanced role by his new international manager to use his energy to smother opponents and his exceptional technical prowess to try to unpick blocks instead of breaking lines.<\/p>\n

But like all tactical decisions, it’s a gamble.<\/p>\n

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\n The 25-year-old earned his 50th Scotland cap against Slovenia
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Gilmour’s advanced starting position quite often left Scotland vulnerable to counter-attacks, and the lack of pace in Scotland’s back three was exposed in those transition moments. He is also still expected to be the team’s most important component in the build-up, thus expending a lot energy at both ends of the pitch.<\/p>\n

That being said, most Scotland fans would probably still highlight him as their best player from this camp.<\/p>\n

Whether he is eventually preferred at six, eight or 10, Gilmour is clearly going to be a key player for the new head coach.<\/p>\n

Scotland’s Nations League fixtures<\/h3>\n
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  • November 13<\/strong> – North Macedonia (H) 7.45pm<\/li>\n
  • November 16<\/strong> – Switzerland (A) 7.45pm<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n


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