Sebastien Pocognoli's Hampden debut flipped swiftly from special to sour as 10-man Scotland were outclassed by Switzerland in the Nations League.
30 Sep 2026
The head coach, who started his reign with a goalless draw in Slovenia on Saturday, was hoping for "fire" in Mount Florida. Instead, though, he witnessed a cold, cruel lesson from major tournament-regulars Switzerland after a nightmarish start.
Dan Ndoye streaked away from Jack Hendry and the centre-back shoved the Nottingham Forest foward as he bore down on Angus Gunn.
Initially, referee Nenad Minakovic pointed to the spot and flashed a yellow card. But, after a lengthy VAR check, both decisions were changed as a free-kick was awarded instead and Hendry's yellow upgraded to a red.
That was bad, but it got even worse. From the free-kick, veteran full-back Ricardo Rodriguez rocketed past Gunn to open the scoring.
Striker Kieron Bowie was sacrificed for defender Stephen Welsh - left out initially in favour of debutant Luis Binks - as Pocognoli was forced to tweak his plan.
But the Scots didn't buckle, showing organisation and the ability to stifle - and occassionally rattle - the Swiss - who were without Granit Xhaka and Breel Embolo - in the remainder of the half.
However, Pocognoli's side - who remain on one point and in third place in Group B1 - were all too easily cut through as Ndoye's neat cross was cutely converted by Leeds United defender Nico Elvedi 10 minutes into the second half.
From there, the game became a non-event. By the time Zeki Amdouni arrowed in the visitors' third, swathes of Scotland supporters had already headed for the exit.
