The Scotland Women’s squad will meet up on Monday to prepare for an international break where we’ll play just a single World Cup qualifier – against Spain next Tuesday.
Of course, the window initially included an away trip to Ukraine, but in light of Russia’s invasion – and similar to the men’s sides’ World Cup play-off semi-final – the qualifying game has been postponed.
The squad for this window almost matches the one which went to the Pinatar Cup in February, with the most notable name added to the list being fan-favourite Erin Cuthbert.
The Chelsea midfielder missed out on a short chunk of playing time this year with a quad strain, but returned to club football in the last two weeks, making her inclusion possible.
Our first meeting with group leaders Spain – an 8-0 defeat in November last year – is still a difficult match to reflect back on. Naturally, there is plenty to improve on this time around and there is a growing demand for our performances to start getting better generally.
Every game in qualifying matters given the current standings – we sit behind Spain in second place in the group – and the rules around securing an advantageous playoff position, so there is plenty at stake for the players ahead of this camp.
The Ukraine game is currently pencilled to go ahead in June and will be followed by the final first-round qualification game against the Faroe Islands in September.
It’s more than likely our route to progress to the World Cup final will be through the play-offs and only once all the regular group games are completed will our possible fixtures in the second half of the year start to become clear.
Incredible to see 91,000 fans at Women’s Champions League clash – but English teams fail to perform in Europe once again
More than 91,000 fans turned up to watch the Women’s Champions League quarter-final second-leg between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou on Wednesday night.
The incredible turnout marked a historic night as Barcelona’s Women’s team played at the stadium for the first time.
Their 5-2 win also saw them progress to the semi-finals once again, as the two-legged tie with their great domestic rivals ended 8-3 on aggregate.
The attendance was the highest across both men’s and women’s competition this season and the spectacle was all over social media platforms throughout the week.
For anyone still in need of further proof the women’s game has value – Kylian Mbappe was spotted as one of the 28,000 fans who turned up in Paris to watch the French Champions PSG secure their spot alongside Barcelona in the final four at the expense of German giants Bayern Munich.
That tie required extra-time with the score locked at 3-3 on aggregate – both legs ended 2-1 to the away team – and PSG finally found a way to squeeze through as penalties approached.
It was an open and frantic encounter. Bayern came from behind on the night, with goals from Saki Kumagai and Lea Schüller, after Sandy Baltimore scored early on for PSG.
In the extra half-hour, former Chelsea forward Ramona Bachmann wasn’t keen to wait around for spot-kicks and found the back of the net in the 112th minute to seal a 4-3 win over the two legs.
The following night saw Arsenal travel to Wolfsburg looking to earn a result in Germany – something which, historically, hasn’t gone well for the English side. Sadly, the trend didn’t change this year, as the Gunners lost 2-0 after the teams drew 1-1 the previous week in London.
Former Arsenal midfielder Jill Roord put Wolfsburg ahead in the opening 10 minutes, before Leah Williamson diverted a cross into her own net at the near post that would end Arsenal’s hopes of a European trophy this season.
They did threaten with the score at 1-0 – Vivianne Miedema hit the woodwork and Almuth Shult made a fine save from Williamson which could have made for a nervy ending. Arsenal were then denied a final opportunity from the penalty spot after Nikita Parris appeared to be brought down in the area.
It means yet another disappointing year for English sides in the competition as all three teams have been eliminated before the semi-final stages. While the domestic league is branded one of the world’s best, the ability to perform against other top European sides continues to be a stumbling block for clubs.
In the last quarter-final tie, Juventus took a 2-1 lead to Lyon, however, two goals in two minutes for Lyon would see them gain the upper hand.
Ada Hegerberg was on target first, with Melvine Mallard adding the quick second, before Catarina Macario, who scored in the first leg, would add a third in the second-half to make it 4-2 on aggregate.
Andrea Staškovà did pull one back for Juve to make for an exciting final few minutes, but seven-time winners Lyon are through to yet another semi-final.
The next round will be played over the last two weekends in April.
Can Aberdeen join other Scottish Women’s Cup semi-finalists?
Aberdeen are in Scottish Cup action this weekend as they take on Celtic in their quarter-final at the Balmoral Stadium.
All the other semi-finalists are already known, as their ties were played on Friday night as part of a new initiative aimed at helping players ahead of the international window.
Glasgow City and Hibernian both moved their matches due to the number of players in each of their respective squads joining their national teams on Monday.
