The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Fearless Clelland leading way as Scots aim to keep World Cup dream alive
Argentina always ‘must-win’ game for striker
Clelland confident of Scotland ‘nous’ Head coach Shelley Kerr would probably be more than content if she could field a team of Lana Clellands when Scotland face Argentina tomorrow.
Kerr’s side take on their South American rivals in Paris in their final group game at the Women’s World Cup, with the victor set to finish third in Group D and potentially reach the last 16.
With full-time approaching and Scotland trailing Japan 2-0 last time out, Perth’s Clelland threw caution to the wind and instinctively blasted a speculative long-range scorcher into the top corner.
The Scots might just need to tap into that kind of fearlessness when they go for broke in the French capital.
“I saw I had no pressure. I just thought: ‘I’m hitting this’,” said Clelland, whose strike has deservedly been nominated for official the goal of the tournament award.
“It was 2-0 down. What was the worst that could happen? As soon as it left my foot, I knew it was top bins!”
Whether the onus falls on Kerr’s charges to take the fight to Argentina or not, there’ll be little room for error at the Parc des Princes.
The unfancied South Americans, ranked 37th in the world coming into the tournament, have been lauded for stellar defensive displays in their goalless draw with Japan and their narrow 1-0 loss to England.
They qualified through an intercontinental play-off against Panama, having finished third in the 2018 Copa America Femenina.
But Clelland is confident that Scotland have the nous to come out on top and take their dream first World Cup campaign into the round of 16.
“We’ve got goals that can come from all over the pitch. I don’t think, as a team, it’s individualised on one person scoring goals,” said the Fiorentina forward.
“We’ve shown that throughout the tournament, so we go into it with confidence that there’s goals that can come from this team.
“We knew, coming into this tournament, the first two games would be really difficult against seventh (Japan) and third (England) in the world.
“We always knew Argentina was the must-win game, so we go into it positive. We can look at our strengths and see how we can break them down because they’re a very well-organised team.
“We’re going to have to find ways to break them down that we maybe haven’t managed in the last two games.
“It’s just a case of us looking at ourselves and taking the positives out of the last two games and take it into the third because we need the three points.”
Scotland impressed with battling second half displays against both England and Japan – but crucially fell to a 2-1 defeat on both occasions.
Searching for a stellar 90-minute performance, Kerr’s side are determined to leave everything on the pitch against Argentina and ensure that they leave France with no regrets.
Clelland said: “We’re in it together. It’s just a case of us looking at ourselves and taking the positives out of the last two games and take it into the third because we need the three points.”
We’re going to have to find ways to break them down that we maybe haven’t managed in the last two games. LANA CLELLAND
Sophie Howard meanwhile says the Scots are ready to embrace the pressure of tomorrow’s game.
Prior to their campaign getting under way, boss Kerr stated the target was to get out of the group.
Defender Howard, who admits “people are starting to doubt”, has spoken of Scotland’s battling qualities and is convinced “this journey is not done for us.”
The 25-year-old said at a press conference ahead of the Argentina match: “We are aware that the pressure is on us now.
“We need three points to continue our journey. We are aware of that and we are ready to take on that pressure, and now it’s (about) being positive and confident going into that game.
“I’m excited for that pressure, because we have shown before that we can perform under pressure, throughout the qualifiers.
“We were down often and came back and I think that’s what our team represents – we fight until the end. I think this journey is not done for us.”
If Scotland beat Argentina, they will replace them in third place in the group.
As well as the top two from each pool, four of the six teams that finish third will advance to the next round.
When asked what it would mean to her to get through, Howard said: “Everything at the moment, especially with the circumstances.
“People are starting to doubt. But as long as we don’t doubt each other and we stick together I think we can go further.”
The Reading player added: “We know this is our last chance but we are excited for that. That’s tournament football. This is what we’ve worked for.
“We knew the first two games were going to be hard and we were trying to get points. That didn’t work out, so now we have to get points and this is our last chance to make sure this is not the end for us.”
Howard also expressed how much she and the rest of the team want to make Scotland proud and repay fans for their incredible support.
She said: “Even though we get the messages that we’ve done the nation proud and we’ve achieved great things just getting here, we know we can do better than this and I can’t imagine this journey will end on Wednesday.”