Pocognoli is Scotland’s first foreign manager since Berti Vogts, and his first Hampden game is against the group leaders

Scotland have had one foreign manager in their history before this autumn. Berti Vogts, the German who won the World Cup as a player, ran the team from 2002 to 2004. Sebastien Pocognoli is the second, and on Tuesday night he takes charge of Scotland at Hampden for the first time, against the group leaders.

Switzerland arrive in Glasgow top of Nations League B Group 1 after a 3-0 win in Skopje. Scotland have a point from a goalless draw in Ljubljana. Kick-off is 7.45pm local time, which is 12.15am IST on Wednesday.

A Belgian at Hampden

Pocognoli is 39 and was appointed on 16 August on an initial two-year deal. Steve Clarke stood down after the World Cup, where Scotland beat Haiti 1-0 and then lost to Morocco and Brazil. The new man came from Monaco, and before that he won the Belgian title with Union Saint-Gilloise in his first season as a senior head coach. He played 13 times for Belgium at left-back.

His first game was on Saturday in Slovenia, and it was a frustrating one. Scotland created chances and did not take any of them. That made it three internationals in a row without a goal, the two World Cup defeats included.

Pocognoli did not sound worried. “It was one game. Some games you score. Some games you are unlucky,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any concerns from my side to score goals because we have good strikers.” Lewis Ferguson, the Bologna midfielder, put it more simply: “On another day we score two or three.”

No McTominay, and a long injury list

The biggest name missing is Scott McTominay, who is out after a minor heart procedure. Che Adams and Lawrence Shankland are injured, and Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean withdrew late. Oli McBurnie and Robbie Ure had the chances in Ljubljana, and Kieron Bowie is pushing for a start.

Switzerland without their captain

Switzerland have their own absence. Granit Xhaka, their most capped player, is sitting out this window while Lucerne prosecutors look into a Covid vaccination certificate. It did not show in Skopje. Remo Freuler scored after 22 minutes and Zeki Amdouni added two more, and Murat Yakin’s side were never troubled.

This is the team that reached the World Cup quarter-finals in the summer before Argentina knocked them out. FIFA ranks them 14th in the world, 28 places above Scotland.

What Hampden can expect

The last time these two met was at Euro 2024, a 1-1 draw in Cologne. The last time Switzerland played at Hampden they won 3-1, in 2006.

My read is that Switzerland are the better side and Scotland know it. A draw would be a decent night for Pocognoli. What he needs more than a result, though, is a goal, because a fourth blank in a row would turn his first home game into a story about the strikers he says he trusts.

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