KERR IS LOOKING FOR PROGRESS AGAINST USA

SCOTLAND women manager Shelley Kerr says tonight’s formidable test with the best team in the world will give her a true indication of the progress her squad has made — and just what they need to do to compete at the highest level. The Scots face the USA in their first fixture at home since beating Switzerland in August on their road to World Cup qualification success. But with great triumph comes great responsibility — and Kerr is aware she must now manage the nation’s expectations. ‘When you represent your country in anything, there is an expectation that comes with that — you need to be able to cope with that,’ said Kerr. ‘We may have surpassed expectations in getting to the World Cup, because it was a tough draw, with the format it was going to be tough. ‘The challenge we have to deal with now is, after back-to-back finals, everyone will expect it (winning) all the time. ‘So for this game, people that know the women’s game, will they expect us to beat the USA? No, but we will try and put in a performance that will do ourselves justice and prepare us for the World Cup. ‘We could draw them in the first game at the World Cup, so it’s better that we play them now and get a measure of where we’re at. It will also give us an indication of how our development has been up to now and what we have to do (in France).’ The last time Scotland played the current world champions was in 2013, losing 3-1, and ten of the players involved in that game will be in tonight’s squad. But the landscape of Scottish women’s football has changed dramatically in the last five years, leading to USA asking Scotland for this friendly, which is a clear sign of positive growth. Despite key members of the squad missing through injury — Kim Little, Sophie Howard, Emma Mitchell and Lisa Evans — one of the rising stars in the Scottish set-up, Erin Cuthbert, is relishing the opportunity to face the Americans. ‘I think for now we are the underdogs,’ said Cuthbert. ‘I prefer that because there’s no expectation on you. You play with a lot of freedom and you don’t play with fear. That’s what we are going to do.’