Ladies lead way
THE Scottish women’s national team have already done the country proud by getting to the World Cup.
And now they’re preparing for a tantalising showdown with England in their first game on Sunday.
Shelly Kerr’s stars caught the imagination of football fans with their stunning route to qualification.
More than 18,500 filed into Hampden to watch them beat Jamaica last week.
The women’s team have taken it all in their stride at what appears to be a turning point for the game.
The number of women and girls playing football in Scotland has doubled in five years. Crowds are growing at matches.
Now the hard work begins for Shelly’s team – and the whole country is cheering them on.
THE time is right and the time is now.
No more hard-luck tales, no more coulda, woulda, shoulda. The exit of the national women’s team from the Euros in Holland two years ago was so damn Scottish.
Different gender, same old story. Thumped in a game in which they failed to show against England, plunged into despair when they lost to a Portugal side they were expected to beat.
You know the script by now. They then defeated highly-rated Spain 1-0 only to lose out on qualification for the quarter-finals by a single goal.
No Scotland team has advanced beyond the group stage of a major tournament but Shelley Kerr’s side are good enough to make history.
They suffered wretched injury luck at the Euros when four mainstays – Emma Mitchell, Lizzie Arnot, Kim Little and Jen Beattie – were ruled out before the tournament.
Then talismanic striker Jane Ross went off against England with a shoulder injury and didn’t feature again.
There’s a whiff of expectation now, not just because of a favourable set-up in France in which four of the best thirdplaced teams from the six groups qualify for the round of 16. No, this is a Scotland team brimming with confidence and with the experience finally to deliver on the biggest stage of all.
Arsenal star Mitchell apart, Kerr has a full squad and if she can keep her mainstays fit over the next fortnight another new chapter is ready to be written in the annals of Scottish football.
The Scots, rated 20th in the world, may lack the strength in depth of England and Japan, third and seventh, but Kerr’s starting XI is strong enough to come to the fore as a surprise package.
And while victory over Argentina in Paris on June 19 is an absolute must, don’t rule out a shock in either of their first two games.
The Scots are on a fivegame unbeaten streak, including a 1-0 defeat of a Brazil team ranked 10th in the world, while a 1-0 loss in November to the USA, the best team on the planet, showed they can be defensively diligent.
The squad is packed with players with experience at the top level COME ON SCOTLAND... COME ON SCOTLAND... COME ON SCOTLAND... COME ON SCOTLAND... COME ON SCOTLAND... COME ON SCOTLAND... COME ON SCOTLAN