North Macedonia vs Scotland: Crucial Nations League Questions Facing Sebastien Pocognoli

North Macedonia vs Scotland: Crucial Nations League Questions Facing Sebastien Pocognoli

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A decision that should be considerably easier is handing Kieron Bowie another place in the starting line-up.

The Sassuolo forward’s first start for Scotland lasted only a little over 10 minutes, as he was withdrawn to allow Welsh to reinforce the defence.

Bowie and Oli McBurnie displayed encouraging chemistry during their brief spell together in Slovenia, but they had little opportunity to develop that understanding against Switzerland. The pair surely deserve another chance to lead the attack.

Any doubts about McBurnie’s commitment, following a five-year absence from international football, have been firmly dismissed by his performances in the last two matches.

Operating mostly alone up front, he worked tirelessly to move Scotland forward and retain possession. It was unfortunate that Bowie was no longer on the pitch to benefit from the numerous headers McBurnie won before the interval.

Pocognoli has taken charge of a team still troubled by one of the main issues Clarke faced during his tenure: a lack of goals. Scotland have now gone four consecutive matches without scoring and are only 25 minutes from establishing an unwanted new record.

The team endured a 447-minute scoreless run in 1970-71, while 422 minutes have now passed since McGinn’s deflected effort against Haiti in Boston found the net.

There could hardly be a better moment to end that drought.

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