Scotland suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat against Slovenia at Hampden Park after conceding two second-half goals despite taking an early lead.
Ryan Christie opened the scoring for the Scottish national team with an opportunistic strike, but Slovenia fought back after the break as Matko equalised and the visitors added a late winning goal.
Manager Sebastien Pocognoli lined Scotland up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, and the home side made a strong start to the match. Wing-back Ben Gannon-Doak delivered a dangerous cross into the penalty area, where defender Jack Hendry connected with a header that led directly to Christie turning the ball home for the opener.
Scotland created the better opportunities during a promising first-half display. Hendry executed key defensive blocks to stop chances from Cerin and Vipotnik, while Lewis Ferguson made an excellent early tackle on Vipotnik to break up a Slovenian attack. Captain Andy Robertson also produced a huge block to deny Vipotnik shortly before the interval, although the left-back was nowhere near the same attacking force he had been against North Macedonia.
In central midfield, Billy Gilmour impressed during the opening 45 minutes with sharp passes and composure on the ball. John McGinn also looked more like his normal self early on, while striker Oli McBurnie put in plenty of physical effort up front despite receiving minimal service from his teammates.
Slovenia second half comeback
The dynamic shifted completely after the break as Pocognoli's side struggled to sustain their pressing intensity. Christie fizzed a powerful shot straight at the Slovenian goalkeeper early in the second half, but Scotland failed to build on that chance as their midfield slowly lost control of the game.
Slovenia began carving through the Scottish backline, with defender Stephen Welsh caught out of position multiple times as Cerin and Sturm created danger. The visitors found their equaliser when Matko got free after defender Luis Binks failed to stay tight enough to him. Matko struck a sidefooted shot past Angus Gunn, who managed to get a right hand to the ball but could not prevent it from rolling into the net.
Gunn was let down by his defense again for Slovenia's winning goal. Binks, who had already received a booking for a foul, was caught missing in action as Slovenia exploited space to score their second goal and complete the turnaround. Scotland's central midfield pairing of Gilmour and Ferguson appeared visibly tired as the match entered a ragged final phase.
Tactical decisions and player ratings
Pocognoli waited too long to make tactical adjustments from the bench, eventually bringing on defender Hickey to replace Welsh. Striker Bowie remained an unused option despite suggestions he should have started the match over McBurnie, whose tireless performance ended without a goal to leave him on 20 international caps without scoring.
The defeat leaves Pocognoli facing serious questions after his team failed to execute his preferred pressing system over the full 90 minutes. Scotland must now regroup and address their defensive vulnerabilities before their next international fixture.
