Scotland take on Slovenia in Ljubljana tomorrow as Sebastien Pocognoli takes charge of the National Team for the first time.
Pocognoli has named a new look Scotland side with numerous players receiving their first international call-ups as Scotland bid to return to League A of the UEFA Nations League.
It’s the first Scotland match since June’s 3-0 loss to Brazil that witnessed Scotland exit the World Cup in the group stage, alongside Steve Clarke’s resignation. The Scotland squad have been in Spain for a warm-weather training camp as they prepare for four matches in the elongated international break.
Speaking on the new faces in the Scotland camp, Pocognoli said: “We have plenty of experience in the team, there are some new faces and young lads, and I think we have a good mix.
“We need to make sure that the balance stays right, and to keep what makes the Scotland team really strong, it was the cohesion and really proper DNA in the team, and this needs to stay.
“The needed change was at this moment, because we follow the timelines, and the change is just about the things that we want to create on the pitch.
“It’s also performance in your club, injury, and at the same time you need to make the change.
“What was provided in the past is massive to use it for the future.
“It’s to find the right balance, like I said, so the experienced players will be important to continue to take care of this, and on the coaching staff point of view, we need to be aligned about what we want to achieve together.
“I want to see a team who are just really together, it’s quite basic, attack together, defend together, but that’s part of the Scotland mentality.”
Prior to the disastrous World Cup campaign, Scotland were relegated from League A of the Nations League after a 3-1 aggregate loss to Greece, which saw a 1-0 away win overturned by a 3-0 loss at Hampden.
As for Slovenia, who didn’t qualify for the World Cup, their last match was a 2-1 loss to Croatia in June. Their last win came in March with a 3-2 victory away to Montenegro.
The two sides last met in 2017 in a 2-2 draw in Slovenia. Leigh Griffiths was on the scoresheet for Scotland as Robert Snodgrass scored a late equaliser. The prior home tie featured another late goal as Chris Martin’s 88th minute strike was enough to seal a 1-0 victory. The only remaining members of that squad are Andy Robertson, who started both matches, and John McGinn, who was an unused substitute in both.
This will be the sixth meeting between the two countries, the first five have seen two Scotland wins and three draws.
Following this match, Scotland will return to Glasgow as they host Switzerland on Tuesday.
Predicted Scotland line-up: 3-4-1-2
Gunn, Hendry, Welsh, Binks, Patterson, Christie, Ferguson, Robertson, McGinn, Bowie, Ure.