Cuthbert is now hoping to floor Hungarians
ERIN CUTHBERT was floored on her last appearance for Scotland at Hampden when a nasty facial knock left her fearing a fractured jaw. Now recovered, the Chelsea star hopes the only people suffering a painful experience at the national stadium this evening are her Hungarian opponents. And this time purely because they’ve been on the receiving end of Scotland’s third win in a row in the World Cup qualifiers. ‘I was getting myself in a little bit of a panic because at the time I did think it was broken,’ said the 23-year-old, stretchered off in last month’s 7-1 win over Faroe Islands after an accidental collision with an opponent. ‘And you do panic. You’re thinking: “This is my career”. ‘All these things go through your head and I was getting in a mess. I was aware of my surroundings and what was going on and once I got into the changing room I was able to sit up on the physio’s bench and I was talking — just a bit slower than usual. ‘I had bruising the whole week on my chin. It was just shock.’ Thankfully, one of Scotland’s star performers is back in one piece as Pedro Martinez Losa’s side look to continue their winning streak against Hungary, who they beat 2-0 in their opening qualifier in Budapest. Cuthbert will collect her 46th cap and look to become the first Scottish player in eight years to score in four consecutive games. However, the road to the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand remains daunting — group favourites Spain are up next month — with next week’s friendly against Sweden offering an indication of the challenge Scotland can expect to face. ‘We know we’re not going to be the finished article straight away,’ said Cuthbert. ‘But you’re starting to see, like against Hungary, little snippets of us trying to play more progressive, attacking football.’ Kick-off: 7.35pm, Hampden. TV: Live on BBC ALBA.