Pocognoli and Robertson say Hendry red card upended Scotland’s plan in Swiss defeat

Scotland lost 3-0 to Switzerland at Hampden Park in Glasgow on 29 September 2026, after Jack Hendry’s early red card left the hosts playing most of the Nations League Group B1 match with 10 men. The defeat came in Sébastien Pocognoli’s first home match as Scotland head coach, with both he and captain Andy Robertson saying the dismissal forced the team to abandon its planned approach.

Ricardo Rodríguez put Switzerland ahead from a free kick in the 12th minute. Nico Elvedi doubled the lead after half-time, and Zeki Amdouni scored the third. The result left Pocognoli still seeking his first win as Scotland head coach, according to Sky Sports.

Why Jack Hendry was sent off against Switzerland

Hendry brought down Dan Ndoye as the Swiss forward ran through on goal. Referee Nenad Minakovic initially awarded a penalty and booked the Scotland defender. After a video assistant referee review, the foul was judged to have happened outside the penalty area. The award changed to a free kick, and Hendry was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Rodríguez then scored directly from the free kick to give Switzerland the lead. The two decisions came in quick succession: Scotland lost a defender and conceded before it had time to settle into a new shape. The Guardian reported that Pocognoli withdrew striker Kieron Bowie and introduced Stephen Welsh to retain a three-man back line.

What Pocognoli said about Scotland’s changed game plan

Pocognoli told Sky Sports that, after about eight minutes, Scotland had to put its game plan aside and judge how the players responded with 10 men. He estimated that they spent about 80 per cent of the match a player short. He called the evening frustrating and said the free kick goal made the immediate effect of the dismissal especially difficult.

The coach said his players stuck together and showed a good attitude. He had hoped they might find chances through transitions or set pieces, but said Switzerland gave them little away. His comments described the constraints of this match; they did not establish how Scotland’s original plan would have worked with a full side.

The Guardian also reported Pocognoli’s collective response to the dismissal: ‘The red card of Jack is all of our red card.’ He said the team would stay together and hoped it could draw something useful from the experience in future.

How Switzerland extended its lead at Hampden

Scotland reached half-time one goal down. In the 55th minute, after the hosts only partly cleared a corner, Ndoye delivered a low ball from the right and Elvedi turned it in at the near post. Both match reports record Elvedi’s goal; the Guardian describes the preceding partial clearance.

Amdouni added the third in the 82nd minute. Sky Sports said he reached Ndoye’s cutback before striking past goalkeeper Angus Gunn. Ndoye had therefore played a central part in the decisive early foul and in the moves that produced Switzerland’s second and third goals.

What Robertson said after Scotland’s defeat

Robertson told BBC Scotland, in comments reported by Sky Sports, that playing Switzerland would have been hard with 11 players and became harder after Hendry’s dismissal. He said Scotland ‘hardly touched the ball second half’, while stressing that the players continued to fight for one another.

The captain said Hendry had tried to win the ball. He also said the team had to discard a plan prepared over the previous three days and improvise after the sending-off. For that reason, Robertson cautioned against treating the match as a clear picture of how Scotland wanted to play under its new manager.

Robertson urged the squad to stay positive and seek results in the next match. Scotland had drawn 0-0 away to Slovenia before facing Switzerland, according to the Guardian. Sky Sports lists an away match against North Macedonia on 3 October, followed by a home game against Slovenia on 6 October. Those fixtures will give Pocognoli further opportunities to put his intended approach into practice.