Mark Bird

Scotland's 3-4-1-2 I know it's very early days and we've just played against a top side for 80 mins with 10 men, but there's a few things making me question if this system is a good fit: 1. Centre-Back's Pace For me if you're going to play this front foot, high-press system you need to have at least some sort of pace across the backline. I think this system can maybe be effective against weaker sides who lack the speed or quality to get the balls in behind, but as seen tonight we can get punished and quite easily to be honest. I'm just unconvinced the personnel fits the philosophy. 2. The Press Personally I like the sort of modern, high-energy, high pressing systems that are so exciting to watch - but they take time to implement. My worry here is that at international level there's just isn't sufficient time on the training ground to really nail down the tactical nuances required individually to make it as effective as it can be. 3. Ben Gannon-Doak I have absolutely no doubt Gannon-Doak can put a shift in at wing back when needed, even for his cameo against Slovenia I thought he looked threatening. But you're just not going to get the absolute best out of him shoehorning him into the side and without him, we just have such little pace to really stretch defences. By playing the wing-backs there's so much onus on Robbo/Hickey/Paterson, none of which have had a particularly stellar start to the season. Maybe I'm just being too reactionary after a pretty dismal second-half performance, but is this the system to get the best out of our players? I'm yet to be convinced. Let me know your thoughts below 👇

Formation & Tactical Identity In 3 out of the 4 games under Cesar, Slovenia have set up in a flexible 5-4-1 formation - providing a solid defensive base first and foremost but allowing for tactical adaptability through wide midfielders and wing backs pushing up to press more aggressively and be more on the front foot. Slovenia aren’t a side who aim to dominate possession, placing more emphasis on quick vertical play and creating from the wide areas. Specifically, they regularly engage their centre forward early and directly to play off second balls, or exploit wide areas with underlapping and overlapping wing backs.

Background Following a winless World Cup 2026 qualification campaign, former Slovenia boss Matjaž Kek unsurprisingly left his post by mutual consent but was swiftly replaced by Boštjan Cesar - Slovenia’s most capped player of all time. Slovenia have yet to play a competitive game under Cesar, but of the 4 friendlies played this year they suffered defeats to Hungary and Croatia, either side of a win against Montenegro and a draw versus Cyprus. Currently ranked 56th in the FIFA World Ranking, 14 places below Scotland (42nd), Slovenia will be looking for a strong start at home but will be without talisman Benjamin Šeško as he continues to struggle with a shin injury lingering from last season.

🇸🇮 v 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 | What to Expect From Slovenia A new look Scotland squad will travel to Ljubljana to face Slovenia in Sébastien Pocognoli’s first game in charge. With Slovenia a bit of an unknown quantity, I’ve tried to dissect what Scotland need to do to win.

⭐️ What He Offers Pocognoli: • Ball-Playing - with how comfortable Binks is in possession, he can be a real asset in getting Scotland forward and kickstarting attacks. He's very composed but not in a nonchalant kind of way, looking to keep the ball even in difficult circumstances rarely punting it long to nobody. That said, he does have a long switch in his locker, and averages 4.14 accurate long balls p90. • Aerial Ability - Being 6ft 3, it's probably no surprise how well Binks does when contesting in the air. It's not just the sheer volume of aerial duels he wins, but how efficient he is too. Physically he's very strong and knows how to use his body well, combine that with an impressive vertical leap it makes him the favourite to win most aerial duels. He also finds teammates surprisingly well from headers, keeping possession often seemingly thinking about more than just winning the header but also the aftermath. • Leadership - even from last season before being made captain, Binks' leadership qualities were clear to see - constantly coaching players around him, giving encouragement, and barking at teammates when necessary. Having been named captain this season, it's clear the positive effect he must have in the changing room. In my opinion, his leadership isn't a quality that should be overlooked with some of the current NT leaders approaching the latter stages of their career.

🧩 Role & Style: Being left-footed, Binks is deployed on the left side of a centre-back pairing in Brøndby's commonly used 4-2-3-1 formation. He was used on the left of a back 3 in the early stages of last season so does have experience in that role. Binks has only ever been used as a centre-back as far as I can tell. Brøndby appear to enjoy playing out from the back, placing a significant emphasis on Binks' ability in build-up play. He's willing to take the ball short from goal-kicks and look to move it forward quickly, picking a pass under pressure or carrying the ball himself. Binks can recycle possession when necessary, but he generally does so with tempo to his play. The Danish outfit look to play a high line, squeezing the game with Binks showing a real tactical awareness of when to aggressively shadow strikers dropping into spaces or when to step off. When defending onrushing attackers, Binks can often opt against engaging, instead jockeying to buy players time to recover.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Luis Binks | Scotland's Centre-Half Solution? With Sébastien Pocognoli set to announce his first Scotland squad tomorrow ahead of the Nations League, Brøndby captain Luis Binks is one I'd really like to see called up. Here's what type of player he is 👇

⭐️ What He Offers: • Aerial Excellence - As expected at 6ft 4, Kelsy is particularly effective at winning aerial duels in a number of scenarios. He likes to be the target for crosses and corners into the box, using his physicality and mobility to get the better of defenders - will certainly be of use when Rangers are forced to cross more often against low blocks. I would like to see him have a bit more conviction with his headers however, only 2 of his goals scored this season have been with his head, none last season. • Penalty Box - Kelsy's movement inside the box seems a real strong point of his play. He shows variety in his runs cutting across defenders, playing on their blind side, or dropping into space for cutbacks. He is certainly more effective shooting with his favoured left foot but can finish with his right too. He also has a knack for being in the right place, 5 of his 9 goals this season scored from within the 6 yard box. • Back To Goal - From the games I watched what I really liked about him was his eagerness to play with a high tempo. Often when fed the ball with his back to goal, he'd limit his touches bringing teammates into play quickly before making a dart forward into the box. Was this always the right play? No, but at just 22 this will likely be honed naturally with more experience. • Physicality - Kelsy should have absolutely no issues adapting to the hustle and bustle of Scottish football. He looks more than willing to get stuck in, using his size and strength to scrap with defenders making him a real handful to play against. He can be overly physical however, averaging nearly 2 fouls a game.

🧩 Role & Style: As an out-and-out centre forward, Kelsy was tasked with spearheading the attack in Portland Timbers' regularly utilised 4-2-3-1. Two striker formations don't appear to be commonly used by the MLS side so it would be interesting to see how he'd fair in a strike partnership. He has previously had a very small number of minutes as a winger on either side but as more of a last resort. Standing tall at 6ft 4, his frame naturally means he leans into a traditional target man style of play: excelling aerially and capable of dropping into spaces to receive the ball with his back to goal bringing others into play. What elevates his game away from the old school target man type is his athleticism. Kelsy is a very powerful runner with good mobility, evident when making channel runs in behind. This is also key for when he leads the press from the front. Above all, Kelsy is a penalty box striker with 43 of his 44 shots this season coming from inside the box. His instincts in front of goal appear to be improving year on year - for the 2026 season, he ranks 7th for non-penalty goals amongst attackers with 0.64 p90.