Scotland manager Melissa Andreatta has told her players to stay locked into the process before Tuesday night’s rematch with Israel after a 6-0 win on Friday night lifted them to the top of League B, Group 4 on goal difference. With seeding for the autumn play-offs still in play, she said the job is not finished.
Scotland entered the qualifying campaign knowing they would need the play-off route to reach next year’s World Cup, and only the League A group winners go straight through from Europe. A finish at the top of the group would still matter, because it would improve their seeding for the next stage and help secure a return to League A for the Nations League campaign.
Andreatta was pleased with the way her side handled the first meeting with Israel, saying they were intelligent, collective in defence and showed the team she wants to see when attacking the final third. Caroline Weir scored a hat-trick, while Erin Cuthbert, Lauren Davidson and Kirsty Hanson also found the net in the heavy win.
But the result was overshadowed in added time when Cuthbert was stretchered off after appearing to suffer a serious injury and was taken to hospital. No update had been given on the extent of the damage by the time of publication, leaving Scotland with a concern that cuts across the significance of the scoreline and the speed of the turnaround.
The second match is being played behind closed doors at the Bozsik Arena, and Scotland’s lead over Belgium in the group came into the night with a goal difference four better. Andreatta said they had to keep sticking to the process, because knowing the value of goal difference is one thing; keeping concentration when the margin is already wide enough to feel safe is another, and Tuesday night will show whether Scotland can do that without losing focus on Cuthbert’s condition.
