Key events
And with that, I’m going to check out. Here’s the Scotland 1-2 Slovenia match report again. Bye!
Andy Robertson reflects on Scotland’s defeat:
double quotation markNot good enough. Whole team on the pitch. I don’t think it was a good performance at all. Maybe in certain parts we did OK, but we didn’t do the good things we did on Saturday. I don’t know what that was down to. So it was difficult. We have to find the reasons why we weren’t there.
We really wanted to kick on from Saturday because we had a really positive feeling about where we were going, but we didn’t follow that up today. They looked a lot fresher, a lot better and a lot more hungry. I don’t think people accept when you’ve been outfought and that’s what happened tonight.
Here’s David Hytner’s report on England’s victory over Czechia:
It was a night that belonged to Harry Kane. Yet another one. It began with him being shown a replay of his first England goal during a pre-match interview with ITV – the header against Lithuania in 2015, just 79 seconds after he came on as a substitute for his debut. It ended with him reflecting on two more in what was a supremely comfortable Nations League victory over Czechia. Some things never change.
It remains a numbers game for Kane. They are getting bigger and ever more impressive. On the occasion of his 125th cap, the one that took him level with Peter Shilton at the top of the all-time England list, he moved to an astonishing 91 goals. Nobody will be surprised if he reaches the century. The only question appears to be when.
Much more here:
Ewan Murray has filed his match report from Hampden Park, and here it is:
This now constitutes a rocky start for Sébastien Pocognoli as Scotland’s manager.
The claiming of four points from three Nations League games was adequate until Slovenia inflicted this defeat. It was the abject nature of Scotland’s display this time that was so stark. Pocognoli’s team were comprehensively outplayed by a side who themselves are no better than functional.
November feels significant for Pocognoli. Put simply, Slovenia met a Scotland who were far, far too easy to play against. Pocognoli has to prove this is the dawn of a new era as opposed to the beginning of an error.
Much more here:
Scotland’s future looks less rosy. They host North Macedonia and visit Switzerland in November while Slovenia have the opposite fixtures, hosting the Swiss and travelling to Skopje. But this win is huge for the group, with head-to-head record the first method of deciding teams tied at the end of it.
1. Switzerland P4 W4 GD+10 Pts 12
2. Slovenia P4 W2 GD+2 Pts 7
3. Scotland P4 W1 GD-2 Pts 4
4. North Macedonia P4 W0 GD-10 Pts 0
Spain have now officially qualified for the Nations League quarter-finals, and England need only to dot a few i’s and cross the odd t to join them, Group A3 looking as it does like this:
1. Spain P4 GD+7 Pts 12
2. England P4 GD+11 Pts 9
3. Croatia P4 GD-10 Pts 3
4. Czechia P4 GD-8 Pts 0
ShareNations League final scores
Ryan Christie has a chat:
double quotation markFrustrating night. I don’t think the first half was particularly great. First 10 minutes of the second half we felt a lot better but then they get the goal and from there we struggled to find our shape. Plenty to reflect on, look back on, and improve. It was nice to score, but it feels a lot nicer when you get something out of the game. Overall us as forwards, me included, probably didn’t create enough tonight.
Here, then, are tonight’s final scores:
League A, Group 3
Croatia 1-2 Spain
England 3-0 Czechia
League B, Group 1
Scotland 1-2 Slovenia
Switzerland 3-0 North Macedonia
League C, Group 1
Albania 2-1 San Marino
Belarus 1-0 Finland
League C, Group 3
Moldova 0-4 Slovakia
Kazakhstan v Faroe Islands was played earlier today and finished 2-2
League C, Group 4
Estonia 0-0 Iceland
Luxembourg 0-2 Bulgaria
9.39pm: Only one game is still ongoing, and in that one Albania have scored a 93rd-minute penalty to steal a 2-1 lead against San Marino.
ShareFinal score: Scotland 1-2 Slovenia
9.38pm: It’s all over! More boos at Hampden Park after a dismal second-half performance allows Slovenia to claim victory.
Scotland manager Sebastien Pocognoli (second left) and his players look dejected after their defeat to Slovenia. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PAShare
Updated at 16.46 EDT
9.37pm: They’re into the last of three advertised minutes of stoppage time in Glasgow.
ShareFinal score: Croatia 1-2 Spain
9.36pm: A massive improvement from Croatia, but Ivan Perisic’s red card gave an unusually error-prone Spain the boost they needed.
9.35pm: The final whistle has gone at Wembley, where England have wrapped up a 3-0 win.
9.34pm: Scotland win a free-kick, 10 yards outside the penalty area. Gilmour gets it over the wall well enough, but it also goes also over the crossbar.
9.32pm: They’re into stoppage time in Split, and are going to have about four minutes of it. Still a couple of minutes of normal time remaining in Glasgow.
ShareGOAL! Croatia 1-2 Spain (Merino, 89 mins)
Against 10 men, Spain complete the comeback! It is, inevitably, a lovely build-up but Merino still had a lot to do, and did it superbly. He took down the chipped pass beautifully, turned, and slammed the ball emphatically past Livakovic!
Mikel Merino (centre) thumps home his, and Spain’s, second goal of the game. Photograph: Darko Bandić/APMerino celebrates with Yeremy Pino. Photograph: Francesco Scaccianoce/Uefa/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 16.41 EDT
9.25pm: In the other game in Scotland’s group Switzerland are now 3-0 up against North Macedonia. Ndoye has scored it, and surely the Swiss side’s 100% record in this Nations League is going to be extended to four games.
9.24pm: Chance for Scotland! McPake sends in a low cross from the left, Bowie takes one touch and then sends it goalwards, but it doesn’t have the venom to beat Oblak.
Scotland’s Kieron Bowie misses a chance. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PAShare
Updated at 16.37 EDT
9.22pm: McPake bursts into the penalty area from the left and goes down, but the referee doesn’t see a foul. Karnicnik did seem to make contact, but McPake probably slowed down to make it happen, and it might not have been inside the area.
ShareRed card for Ivan Perisic!
9.21pm: That’ll be Perisic’s last positive contribution to the game, because moments later he earns a second yellow card. He tries to argue that Cucurella dived, and there certainly seemed to be no malice in the challenge, but there was contact, it looked quite trippy to me, and a yellow it is. VAR checks the decision, but does not overturn it.
9.20pm: Talking of self-destruction, Spain have handed Croatia another brilliant chance! Zubimendi tries to find Cubarsi in his own penalty area but misses him, and Perisic blatters a shot goalwards, but it’s too close to Unai Simon!
9.18pm: A couple more substitutions for the Scots, who bring on Josh McPake and Findlay Curtis, taking off Christie and Gannon-Doak. They just need to go a few minutes without threatening to self-destruct and take it from there.
ShareGOAL! Scotland 1-2 Slovenia (Sturm, 71 mins)
Great movement on the right ends in Matko running clear, and he sends a low cross to Sturm who makes no mistake at the far post! Scotland have looked absolutely dismal since half-time and boos ring out after they fall behind!
Danijel Sturm sweeps the ball home to give Slovenia the lead. Photograph: Ian MacNicol/Getty ImagesSturm celebrates with teammates after scoring their side’s second goal of the game. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PAShare
Updated at 16.29 EDT
9.14pm: Slovenia have a goal disallowed for offside! The ball is nodded on to Matko, who slides it under Gunn and into the net, but he was indeed behind the last defender as it was headed towards him. Still, Scotland are reeling here.
9.12pm: San Marino have scored an equaliser in Tirana! Lorenzo Lazzari with the goal!
9.10pm: A double change for Scotland. McBurnie and Welsh are going off, Hickey and Bowie are coming on.
9.05pm: Slovenia rip Scotland apart down the left again. This time Sturm rolls a pass along the edge of the Scottish penalty area, which two teammates are approaching unaccompanied, but Zabukovnik’s first-time shot isn’t great and hits a defender.
9.03pm: What a miss! Vipotnik is played into all sorts of space on Slovenia’s left, gallops into the area and, with only Gunn to beat, curls a shot well over the bar!
ShareGOAL! Croatia 1-1 Spain (Merino, 61 mins)
An equaliser also in Split! A weak clearing header drops to Olmo, who draws a couple of defenders and pushes to Merino, who sweeps it home from eight yards!
Mikel Merino of Spain scores his team’s equaliser. Photograph: Francesco Scaccianoce/Uefa/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 16.20 EDT
GOAL! Scotland 1-1 Slovenia (Matko, 57 mins)
From a Scotland throw-in, Slovenia score! A nice pass sends Matko running infield from the right and Luis Binks doesn’t get tight enough to stop him taking a shot but does get close enough to slightly deflect it when it comes, helping to take it past Gunn and into the bottom corner of the net!
Aljosa Matko of Slovenia (left) wheels away in celebration after scoring their equaliser, much to the chagrin of Scotland’s Luis Binks. Photograph: Ian MacNicol/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 16.08 EDT
9pm: Harry Kane has gone and scored yet another goal. England lead Czechia 3-0 and any moment now Scott Murray will tell you how it happened:
8.59pm: Slovenia’s David Sec is booked for giving McGinn’s shirt a healthy tug.
8.58pm: Spain appear to have received something of a rocket at the interval, and they come close again: Yamal’s lovely, dipping cross from the right zings into the area, Olmo throws himself at it, and he doesn’t quite get there.
8.56pm: Save! Gannon-Doak ignores McBurnie and instead passes to Christie, on the left of Slovenia’s penalty area, but the pass forces him a bit wide and Oblak makes a fairly routine save from the ensuing shot.
8.54pm: Yamal is played through by Spain, runs into the area, nudges the ball past the keeper and goes down theatrically in search of a penalty. He doesn’t get one, though, but he doesn’t get a yellow card either.
8.50pm: The Scotland game is also back under way, this one with no half-timely changes for either side.
8.47pm: Peeeep! Spain have kicked off the second half. Mikel Marino has come on at the break, with Alex Baena making way.
ShareHalf time: Scotland 1-0 Slovenia
The half-time whistle goes in Albania, where the referee went a bit big on stoppage time, and that’s the last of tonight’s games to reach the interval, with the half-timely scores looking like this:
League A, Group 3
Croatia 1-0 Spain
England 2-0 Czechia
League B, Group 1
Scotland 1-0 Slovenia
Switzerland 1-0 North Macedonia
League C, Group 1
Albania 1-0 San Marino
Belarus 1-0 Finland
League C, Group 3
Moldova 0-2 Slovakia
Kazakhstan v Faroe Islands was played earlier today and finished 2-2
League C, Group 4
Estonia 0-0 Iceland
Luxembourg 0-2 Bulgaria