Arabic version: روبرتسون يقول إن سلوفينيا تفوقت على اسكتلندا في الالتحامات

According to BBC News, Scotland captain Andy Robertson said his side were “outfought” and “not good enough” after a 2-1 Nations League defeat by Slovenia at Hampden Park. Scotland had won in North Macedonia on Saturday and were favourites to follow that result with another victory.

Ryan Christie gave Scotland a half-time lead with a close-range backheel, but Slovenia came back after the break. Danijel Sturm and Aljosa Matko scored second-half goals to turn the match around, with Scotland described as alarmingly open defensively.

Robertson said the team had not repeated the good things it did on Saturday and needed to find the reasons Slovenia caused so many problems. He said Scotland may lack quality or make mistakes, but added that people do not accept the team being outfought. Robertson also suggested tiredness could have been a factor, while noting Slovenia had played the same number of games and looked fresher and hungrier.

Head coach Sebastien Pocognoli agreed that Scotland were well below par. He said the side did not deserve to win, were not clever enough on the ball and were far from strong enough in duels. Pocognoli said each game provides information and that Scotland would learn from the defeat and try to improve in the next match.

Pocognoli, who succeeded Steve Clarke in August, has introduced a more aggressive and attacking approach and called up several new faces. Former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday said on Sportsound that Pocognoli’s period of grace was over, while former Scotland captain Willie Miller questioned whether the coach would persist with his preferred back-three system after Slovenia repeatedly got behind Scotland’s high defensive line.