Scotland “broke the tradition” of drama and late heartache by triumphing over Austria in their Women’s World Cup play-off semi-final, says boss Pedro Martinez Losa.
Abi Harrison’s crashing header in extra time earned the Scots a shot at Republic of Ireland in the final on a night which could have slipped away.
Instead, it was the Scots who dare to dream of next year’s finals.
“We broke the tradition of drama at the end in a negative way,” he said.
“This team has worked on what we can achieve together with mental strength, the emotional part and I think we showed that on the pitch.”
It was fitting that Scotland could mark such an historic occasion with a victory.
With a crowd of 10,128, this was their biggest home attendance for a competitive fixture. Among that number were the Ravenscraig Pioneers, members of the first ever women’s Scotland team who took to the pitch 50 years ago.
It was a poignant nod to the past on what was on occasion for inspiring the future. Large swathes of the crowd inside a wet Hampden were children, and Martinez Losa is hopeful his team can continue to be a beacon of inspiration against the Irish on Tuesday.
“We play football to make them proud,” said the Spaniard, whose side suffered several scares from the Austrians in 90 minutes. “We want to have a bigger support in the next game if we can, and that they’ve connected with the team, feel proud with what they’ve seen.
“Hopefully they’ve inspired not just girls, but a whole nation. It’s that dream for all the players.
“We know Ireland well. We haven’t spoken to the players in the camp yet.
“We know Republic of Ireland well. It’s time to rest first, recover players and get the energy again and go.”
So what happens now?
Right, this gets a bit tricky…
So, there are three play-off finals taking place. Of the three winners, the top two go straight to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, based on points and goals tallies taken from the group campaign and the result of the play-off final. With me so far?
The third-highest ranked winner on Tuesday will then go into a play-off in New Zealand in February for another game. That 10-team inter-confederation play-off will also feature Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Cameroon, Senegal, Haiti, Panama, Chile, Paraguay, and Papua New Guinea.
Of the six teams left right now, Scotland are fourth, with Ireland third. If the Scots triumph, they’d then need Portugal to beat second-placed Iceland or Wales to see off Switzerland to make it directly into the finals.
Add in that if Scotland were to win on penalties they’d only get a point rather than three, it makes it all the more confusing. However, Scotland’s match is due to kick-off two hours later than the other two ties, so Martinez Losa’s team may well know what’s at stake before taking to the pitch.
Basically, win on Tuesday and at worst we are one game away from a second Women’s World Cup. Sorted.
Team | Points | Goal difference | Goals scored | |
Switzerland | 19 | 19 | 23 | |
Iceland | 18 | 22 | 25 | |
Republic of Ireland | 17 | 22 | 26 | |
Scotland | 16 | 9 | 22 | |
Portugal | 16 | 9 | 18 | |
Wales | 14 | 8 | 13 |
Play-off fixtures
Play-off finals (11 October)
Portugal v Iceland (18:00)
Scotland v Republic of Ireland (20:00)
Switzerland v Wales (18:00)