Hamill braced for toughest test yet as Scots bring down the curtain on Euros campaign

Scotland Under-19 head coach Pauline Hamill says her side could be facing the best team in Group A when they play their third and final game at St Mirren Park tonight, writes Alan Campbell.

Netherlands beat Norway 5-0 in their opening match of the U19 Euros, and although they lost 3-1 to France in the second, Hamill feels the scoreline was misleading. The Dutch will go through to the semi-finals if they beat Scotland, although a draw would also be enough if Norway don’t beat France.

“From what I’ve seen so far, Netherlands are potentially the best team in the group,” Hamill said. “I’ve watched their game against France back and either side could have won it.”

Scotland, having lost 2-1 to France and 4-0 to Norway, cannot reach the last four but the head coach is, by and large, happy with the performances of her players. The reality is that the Scots are almost certainly only in the finals because they are the hosts and didn’t have to qualify.

Left-back Charlotte Newsham, who qualifies for Scotland through a grandfather, plays for Manchester United’s development side but hopes to make the breakthrough into the senior squad this season.

“I was at Manchester City for two years and Kevin Murphy was the technical director – he gotintouchwithpaulineabout my Scottish connection,” the 19-year-old said. “I joined Man Utd last summer for one reason – I thought I would get better first-team opportunities.”

In Group B, Germany and Spain meet each other having already qualified for the semi-finals after winning their first two games. Belgium play England in the other tie.