Switzerland thrash 10-man Scotland 3-0 in Hampden rout

Ten minutes. That's all it took for Scotland to be reduced to ten men, and the match unraveled from there. At Hampden, Switzerland won 3-0 in a Group B1 clash of the UEFA Nations League that was effectively decided long before the first goal went in.

The referee had reviewed a possible penalty for the home side in the 7th minute, and VAR determined there was no foul. Three minutes later came the blow that truly set the tone: Jack Hendry was shown a red card in the 10th minute, leaving Scotland down to ten men for nearly the entire rest of the match. Switzerland made the numerical advantage count right away, celebrating in the 11th minute: Ricardo Rodriguez made it 1-0 with a direct free kick, a low left-footed strike that snuck in by the post.

Down a man, Scotland could barely hold the game together. Switzerland controlled possession at will and kept coming forward, though the second goal didn't arrive until the second half. In the 54th minute, off a corner kick, Nico Elvedi struck a right-footed effort from the center of the box to make it 2-0, assisted by Dan Ndoye's cross. The result was put beyond doubt in the 81st minute: once again with Ndoye providing the assist and once again from a corner, Zeki Amdouni finished with his right foot to make it 3-0.

A dominance beyond dispute

The numbers leave little room for debate. Switzerland controlled 76.8% of possession to Scotland's mere 23.2%, and the gap in attacking output was even more pronounced.

Switzerland fired off 23 shots to Scotland's two, and that avalanche of attempts is also reflected in the post-match expected goals figures: 1.474 for the visitors compared to 0.117 for the home side, a number that confirms the dominance wasn't just territorial but also showed up in the quality of chances created.

The result strayed well beyond what the pre-match projections suggested, when Switzerland had been given a 44% chance of winning against 25% for Scotland and 31% for a draw, with expected goals of 1.37 for the visitors and 0.99 for the home side, a combined total of 2.36. Hendry's early sending-off completely rewrote that script: what was expected to be an even contest turned into a formality for Switzerland from the first quarter-hour onward.

What it means for the group standings

In Group B1, Switzerland moved to 6 points with a perfect record of two wins from two matches and a goal difference of +6, sitting atop the group. Scotland, meanwhile, remain on just 1 point after one win, one draw and one loss, with a negative goal difference of -3, sitting in third place. The gap between the two sides in the table stands at 5 points.

For Scotland, the game plan fell apart almost as soon as it began, and there was no way to recover with ten men for 80 minutes. For Switzerland, Ndoye's effectiveness as a playmaker, with two assists on the decisive goals, along with the finishing of Amdouni and Elvedi, sealed a perfect night at Hampden.