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The future is bright for Scotland women despite WWC absence

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Scotland Women’s national team narrowly missed out on a place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand this year. The squad is currently exceptionally strong as it is filled with players from the Women’s Super League and other top clubs around Europe.

Scotland’s qualifying campaign for WWC 2023

Scotland fell at the final hurdle in the playoffs for the competition against Ireland. The Scots were perhaps slightly favoured prior to the competition but they failed to deliver. Ireland’s 1-0 triumph meant that they would take place Scotland’s place in the World Cup.

Ireland are competing for the first time ever in the showpiece competition. In odds on Women’s World Cup, Ireland are outsiders to qualify from Group B at a price of 10/3. Scotland would have surely been in better stead to be competitive at the tournament. It is incredibly disappointing that Scotland failed to qualify after a great showing in the qualification group stage.

Scotland finished second in Group B behind just Spain. They recorded five wins and finished with 16 points; the standout victory came away to Ukraine with a 4-0 result. The Scots produced a promising performance overall in the qualification campaign that unfortunately culminated in a defeat on the highest pressure stage.

The women’s national team have a bright future ahead of them despite their agonising defeat this time around, the Euros in 2025 and the World Cup in 2027 await them.

Internationals playing all over Europe

Scotland’s women’s team has arguably improved massively over the years due to the willingness of the top players to leave their comfort zones. The national team squad features players that play for some of the WSL’s top teams as well as European giants like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

With the Women’s Scottish Premiership not being incredibly competitive, it is not an ideal league for national team players to develop. Scottish players are regularly making big moves abroad in order to further their careers. Playing in UEFA Champions League knockout rounds is unlikely to happen while remaining in Scotland.

Lisa Evans is a veteran winger for Scotland that has won titles with huge clubs such as Bayern and Arsenal during her career. She enjoyed a few years of success with Glasgow City before going on to hop between some of the biggest clubs in the women’s game.

Other players need to follow suit of Evans and other veterans in the Scottish team. If the team is to continue to improve, then players must continue to seek opportunities abroad at the highest levels possible. Exposure to high-intensity football is vital to prepare players to compete against the top international sides.

Many lesser international teams struggle with a lack of variation in their squads. Some nations are restricted to national pools of mainly domestic-based players. Scotland does not have this problem which is a huge advantage for the future.

If Scotland’s greatest talents can continue to make moves to huge clubs across the continent then more quality assets will be available at Scotland’s disposal. A wider range of players will have been exposed to the peak levels of the women’s game.

With the current trajectory of the Scottish women’s game, it is surely only a matter of time before Scotland are major tournament regulars.
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