Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn suffered another damaging night as head coach Sebastien Pocognoli watched his team fall to a defeat against Slovenia at Hampden Park.
The host nation had led 1-0 at half-time despite a disjointed first-half performance, but Slovenia turned the match around after the break to leave Scotland needing snookers to salvage anything meaningful from their UEFA Nations League campaign.
Slovenia equalised just before the hour mark when Aljosa Matko broke forward and took aim from outside the penalty box. The shot was not a piledriver and was eminently saveable, but Gunn was slow getting down and could only push the ball weakly into the far corner, bringing a loud groan from the crowd at Scotland's national stadium in Glasgow.
Just a few moments later, Danijel Sturm raced through on goal down the left channel. Gunn advanced initially before hesitating and retreating backwards, escaping further punishment only when Sturm fired over the crossbar when he really ought to have scored to put Slovenia 2-1 ahead.
The defeat represented a major blow for Pocognoli, the former Belgian international defender who recently took charge of the Scottish national team. Having started the international window with high expectations, the new head coach saw much of the early goodwill surrounding his appointment vanish after a woefully disjointed display that left Scotland looking leggy and jaded.
The setback completely altered the outlook of Scotland's four-game Nations League block. A stylish 2-0 victory over North Macedonia in Skopje last weekend had restored optimism following a heavy 3-0 loss to Switzerland at Hampden last week, but the collapse against Slovenia exposed persistent defensive lapses and structural flaws.
Angus Gunn under fire following costly mistakes
Gunn had already come under heavy criticism after the 3-0 defeat to Switzerland, where supporters, pundits and Gunn himself agreed he should have performed significantly better on a couple of the Swiss goals. Gunn admitted afterwards that he would look back at the goals and try to assess what he could have done differently, privately acknowledging that he had suffered a poor night.
Although Gunn kept a clean sheet against North Macedonia in Skopje last weekend, the hosts offered precious little in attack to test him. Against a Slovenia side that surprised Scotland with their pace and invention going forward, his vulnerabilities were laid bare once again, making Gunn the main talking point across Scottish football.
Consistency and reliability are essential metrics for any goalkeeper at the top level of football. Aside from the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, Gunn has repeatedly made mistakes that have cost Scotland, leaving him as the national team's first-choice goalkeeper by default rather than conviction.
Lack of goalkeeping alternatives for Pocognoli
Finding a reliable replacement in goal has become a matter of urgency for Pocognoli ahead of the European Championship qualifiers next March. However, the head coach faces a vacuum around the position because alternative options are not forcing the issue with consistent, high-level performances.
Liam Kelly remains a squad option at Rangers without any chance of playing regular football, while Scott Bain is struggling through a difficult season at Falkirk. Jon McCracken is currently playing in League One with Bradford City, and veteran goalkeeper Craig Gordon's remarkable international longevity has finally run its course.
The shortage highlights a broader crisis in the Scottish game, where only one or two Scottish goalkeepers regularly start in the top-flight Scottish Premiership on any given weekend. If the national team is to avoid repeating this cycle of limited choice, domestic clubs and the Scottish Football Association (SFA), based at Hampden Park, must take the development of young goalkeepers far more seriously.
Goal drought and quiet Hampden stands
While goalkeeping errors proved costly, Scotland's outfield players also struggled to make an impact. Forward Oli McBurnie has now passed 1,000 minutes in a Scotland shirt without scoring a goal, while the team's defensive unit repeatedly allowed Slovenia to play through their press far too easily.
The match was also marked by a noticeable number of empty seats around Hampden Park for the final fixture of this Nations League quadruple-header. Many Tartan Army supporters were still recovering financially after paying substantial sums to follow Scotland at the World Cup in America during the summer, while others opted to watch on television given that this was the least glamorous of the two home matches in the international break.
Crowd numbers and atmosphere are presumed to return to full capacity when the Euro qualifiers commence next March. Nevertheless, international selection is not a loyalty scheme, and until Gunn raises his level consistently or a new contender emerges, Scotland will continue to face the big occasions with a major question mark in goal.
