Scotland’s first home match under head coach Sebastien Pocognoli ended in a deeply unsatisfactory 3-0 defeat by Switzerland at Hampden, a night shaped by Jack Hendry’s 11th-minute red card. Hendry was sent off for denying Dan Ndoye a goalscoring opportunity, and Scotland’s attempt to recover was further damaged by the goals they conceded.
The opening goal arrived after referee Nenad Minakovic initially awarded Switzerland a penalty, only for a VAR review to change it to a free-kick on the edge of the box. Ricardo Rodriguez scored from the set-piece, beating Gunn on the goalkeeper’s side. Sportsound pundit Andy Halliday was critical of the goalkeeper’s part in it, describing the attempt as “shoulder height and not a lot of pace” and saying: “For me I think it’s so poor from Angus Gunn.”
Nico Elvedi turned home Ndoye’s cross to double Switzerland’s lead, before Zeki Amdouni made it 3-0 with a shot that went through Gunn’s arms and high into the net. Former Scotland forward James McFadden said of the third goal: “I know it’s a powerful strike, but that’s one that Angus Gunn can keep out.” The San Jose Earthquakes stopper, 30, was arguably at fault for the first and third goals as the Swiss coasted to victory.
Gunn started all three of Scotland’s games at the World Cup, ahead of Liam Kelly and Craig Gordon. Gordon’s presence in the squad at the age of 43 was testament to his extraordinary longevity, but it also highlighted the lack of other quality options competing for the number one jersey. Falkirk’s Scott Bain has replaced the retired Gordon in the squad for this Nations League campaign, and there is a sense Scotland are not as blessed in the goalkeeping department as they have been in years gone by.
That context leaves Pocognoli with a question over whether to change his goalkeeper for the upcoming matches against North Macedonia on Saturday and Slovenia on Tuesday. Halliday said: “I don’t think there’s somebody that’s battering the door down to take his jersey because a lot of them aren’t playing football.” He added that Gunn “probably is the number one deservedly”, but argued there is less confidence in him than there was in previous Scotland goalkeepers such as Craig Gordon, Allan McGregor, David Marshall, Jim Leighton and Andy Goram. “I’m looking at the first and the third goal – and I might be in the minority for the third goal, I think a lot of people will think it’s been hit with such pace – but the goalies I mentioned there, do they save them? I think they do,” Halliday said.
Gunn did make a couple of smart saves from Ndoye either side of half-time to prevent Switzerland from killing the game off even earlier. He admitted he would review the goals he conceded, saying: “They were good strikes but, as a goalkeeper, I’m always disappointed when I concede a goal.” He added: “I’ll look back and see what I could have done better and get better for the next game.” On the first goal, he said: “Obviously when you’ve got a free-kick that close, you want to protect your side. I was holding as much as I could and saw it late. I’ll probably look back at it. I’ll probably be disappointed and try and get better for next time.”