· 2 min readIn this Slovenia vs Scotland match, I analyse the key tactical moments, individual performances and turning points of the game.
The first game of the Nations League brought together two teams from League B, where the objective is to finish top of the group. Scotland came into the game as the stronger side, but with a new manager and a big question over whether Pocognoli could add more creativity to a team that looked far too reactive at the World Cup. On the other side was a limited Slovenia, although they had Oblak in goal and a few players capable of making the difference.
And for a large part of the first half, it was Slovenia who looked more comfortable. Both teams defended in a 5-3-2 and Scotland were struggling to create anything. In the 7th minute, Šporar scored with a fantastic shot from outside the box, but the goal was ruled out for an obvious offside earlier in the move.
Shortly after, the striker had an even clearer chance. He received a low cross from Šturm and somehow put the ball wide. A number 9 simply cannot miss that.
Scotland had more possession, but looked harmless. They lacked speed and creativity and, for long periods, Slovenia defended without any real difficulty. McGinn, one of Scotland’s main references, was particularly quiet, with just eight touches after 34 minutes and very little influence even without the ball.
Slovenia continued to look more dangerous. Drkušić hit the post with a difficult header and was also having an excellent game defensively. Scotland only started to wake up towards half-time.
In the 43rd minute, McGinn found Robbie Ure and, two minutes later, the striker received the ball facing goal, cut inside and hit the post. Finally, there was some life in Scotland’s attack.
Half-time arrived goalless, with three shots each and none on target. Scotland had 61% possession, but that said very little about the game. Slovenia had been the more dangerous side for most of the first half.
After the break, however, a different Scotland came out. In the 51st minute, McBurnie won the ball near the box and found himself in an excellent position, but decided to try and dribble instead of shooting. Oblak came off his line well and saved Slovenia. Shortly after, Gilmour combined brilliantly with McBurnie and got into a position to shoot. Oblak made the first save from a shot on target in the entire game.
From there, Scotland completely took control. Slovenia were pinned back inside their own box and struggled badly to get out. Bijol made a crucial tackle in the 65th minute to prevent what could easily have been a goal, and Oblak appeared again shortly after to save a McBurnie header.
Scotland should have been ahead by then. In the 77th minute, Gilmour found Bowie completely unmarked inside the box with a clear sight of goal, but the forward could not even get the shot in the right direction. You simply cannot miss that. By the 81st minute, Scotland’s second-half performance was almost unrecognisable compared to what they had shown before the break.
Gilmour was one of the main reasons for that reaction and deserved the spotlight. Scotland finished the second half with 14 shots, five on target, compared to just one from Slovenia. Still, they could not find a goal.
Post-match
The draw is understandable because each team had one half where they looked better. But looking at the game as a whole, Scotland created more and had enough chances to win. The problem was that they took far too long to actually show up.
