Switzerland secured a convincing 3-0 Nations League win over Scotland at Hampden Park, a match transformed inside the opening 12 minutes by Jack Hendry’s red card. Murat Yakin’s side had controlled the early exchanges without creating a clear chance until Dan Ndoye was sent through on goal from the halfway line. Hendry did not have the pace to stop him and pulled him back. Referee Nenad Minakovic initially booked Hendry and awarded a penalty, but after an unnecessarily lengthy VAR check he changed his decision to a free-kick and sent Hendry off. Ricardo Rodríguez stepped up and curled the ball beyond Angus Gunn from 19 yards. Scotland played almost 80 minutes with 10 men.
Sébastien Pocognoli’s response was to withdraw Kieron Bowie, one of Scotland’s two strikers, and introduce Stephen Welsh, retaining a three-man backline. A noticeably subdued Hampden crowd feared a long evening. Switzerland, who had won comfortably in North Macedonia on Saturday, looked physically and technically superior. Scotland’s play in possession was far too often sideways or backwards. John McGinn appealed in vain for a penalty after claiming he was held at a Scotland corner. Gunn denied Ndoye nine minutes before the break. The first half ended with a yellow card for Pocognoli, who protested too vociferously after McGinn was fouled.
Switzerland’s second came from an unlikely source. Scotland only partially cleared a corner and the ball was funnelled wide right to Ndoye. His pacy low cross was met by central defender Nico Elvedi, who strode forward to flick home. Two nil was a more appropriate reflection of the contest to that point. Pocognoli made a triple change, but Oli McBurnie’s 18th cap passed without ending his international scoring wait, and the alterations were like-for-like in positional nature. Switzerland’s manager, Yakin, withdrew Johan Manzambi, whose lively performance had irritated the home support through embellished fouls and a verbal spat with McBurnie, but whose movement, touch and dribbling had unnerved Scotland.
The closing stages resembled an attack-versus-defence exercise. A third Swiss goal was inevitable as they toyed with the Scots. Zeki Amdouni’s strike flew into the roof of the Scotland net via Gunn, the goalkeeper pitifully weak in attempting to deal with it. A mass exodus from the stands followed. Pocognoli has been served a strong, painful reminder of the scale of the task he chose to inherit.
The result leaves Switzerland with six points out of six in Group B1, and they have not even played at home yet. They have responded exceptionally well from allegations involving vaccination certificates that threatened to overshadow the international window. Scotland, meanwhile, have scored only once in five games. Scottish expectancy heading into a World Cup where they subsequently took tedium to new levels feels a long time ago. The upcoming trip to North Macedonia carries importance as Pocognoli seeks to win hearts and minds. Scotland were outclassed in every department, and this was grim for anyone of a Scotland persuasion.