Nations League Opener Preview
Slovenia and Scotland Meet in Nations League Opener Amid Key Squad Absences
Anonymous
Slovenia host Scotland in their UEFA Nations League opener in Ljubljana, with new head coach Sébastien Pocognoli taking charge of Scotland after Steve Clarke’s departure. Scotland have several absences, including Kieran Tierney, Kenny McLean, Che Adams and Lawrence Shankland, and Pocognoli has included eight uncapped players in a reshaped squad. Slovenia will be without Benjamin Šeško, who withdrew with a shin injury, and defenders Kenan Bajiric and Marcel Ratnik; Andraz Sporar could lead the attack, with Jan Oblak set to captain the side. Scotland are unbeaten in their past five meetings with Slovenia, although their recent record includes just one clean sheet in 11 matches. The match is scheduled for 2 p.m. UK time and will be shown on BBC One and iPlayer.
Key Points
1
Scotland head into the Nations League after being eliminated in the group stage of the World Cup, while Slovenia did not qualify for the tournament.
2
Since reaching the last 16 at Euro 2024, Slovenia have lost only twice at home: 4-1 to Norway in the previous Nations League and 2-0 to Kosovo in World Cup qualifying.
3
Scotland captain Andy Robertson is three appearances short of reaching 100 caps for his country.
4
Oli McBurnie could make his first Scotland appearance since 2021; he has not scored in his previous 16 international caps.
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