Scotland’s hopes of reaching the men’s World Cup have been shattered, which now puts the country’s dreams onto the women to try and keep the chance alive to reach the 2023 tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
Scotland have two games left in the group stages with the next match coming at an unfortunate time amid the summer off-season.
The penultimate tie against Ukraine has been confirmed for June 24 and will be hosted by Poland, just an hour from the Ukrainian border.
In similar fashion to Wednesday’s fixture at Hampden, the match will be played with the utmost respect for the situation that current exists with the war in Ukraine.
The match is expected to be notably more fraught as Ukraine will fulfil an international match for the first time since the war began and the emotions for everyone will certainly be heightened.
An extended squad will convene for small mini-training windows ahead of the official international window that will include players based on individual player scheduling and loading.
These additional sessions will hopefully be important in minimising the impacts from the timing of this important fixture, as it falls right in the middle of most players’ down time.
Whilst some physical demands can be more easily maintained in isolation, the lack of football sessions will be sparse across the majority of the current squad otherwise.
For Scotland, a win will almost secure the desired play-off berth, with the focus then turning to a trip to the Faroe Islands in September.
Anticipation is building for this summer’s Euros
The Euros are fast approaching and with several teams naming their extended squads for the major tournament in July, it is helping to spark the growing anticipation for what is expected to be the biggest European tournament in history to date.
England named their long list of players relatively early as they hope to capitalise on their home advantage, as well as making use of every day ahead of the tournament.
The slightly earlier league finish in comparison to most other major domestic competitions in Europe means that Sarina Wiegman is hoping her players can maximise additional training opportunities, after she already allowed most players to have their allotted time to recover before ramping up preparations.
Her squad has included a couple of key players that have not managed to feature much in recent league form. None-more-so than former captain Steph Houghton, who has had a relentless time with a persisting Achilles problem. She was expected to return to training this week as she hopes to find a way to be physically ready to compete.
The 34-year-old has vast experience at major tournaments and whilst her time on the pitch remains uncertain, she will be expected to play an influential role with her leadership and maturity.
Also hoping to make a return to fitness is Chelsea’s Fran Kirby, who has been missing since the turn of the year with fatigue. Her rehab continues to be closely monitored as the team begin training at St Georges Park, although she is yet to be seen on the pitch.
The final player to meet up with the squad is Houston Dash captain, Rachel Daly. She is expected to return next week from the US, due to the NWSL season which will run right through the summer and virtually the entire tournament.
England did showcase their new bespoke kit ranges for the tournament. Indiscreetly coincidental, the bright orange away kit unmistakably resembles a traditional Dutch look – which I am sure Wiegman is a particular enthusiast of.
Her Dutch heritage, along with the fact that Netherlands won the 2017 competition will be a wishful aspect that the side will be hoping can become a lucky omen.
It's time to be fearless ❤️🔥
Our new England away shirt… pic.twitter.com/yDZvq7dxmK
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) May 25, 2022
There will be some notable names that we now know we won’t see at the finals next month from some other top nations. France have remarkably opted to exclude Amandine Henry, Eugenie Le Sommer and Sarah Bouhaddi.
The trio lifted the Champions League trophy last week with their club team, Lyon, which began with a remarkable 30-yard strike from Henry on the night. Le Sommer is France’s all-time leading goal scorer, and she is joined by Bouhaddi in the list of top ten appearances for Les Blues.
The omission of all three is certainly surprising, however Corinne Diacre is not scared to make bold decisions as France hope to overcome the hurdle of the quarter-finals which has become a recent stumbling block for the side at major competitions.
Also this week, my Aston Villa teammate and Switzerland winger, Aliesha Lehmann, withdrew herself from selection due to personal reasons.
England’s PFA Women’s Player of the Year nominations
England’s PFA announced the shortlist of nominees for this season’s respective awards this week.
In rather neat fashion, the six nominees for Players’ Player of the Year are made up of two players from each of the top three.
Chelsea’s highest profile stars, Pernille Harder and Sam Kerr, both made the list, alongside Arsenal’s Kim Little and Vivianne Miedema.
Lauren Hemp has also been shortlisted with her ever-present England and Man City team-mate, Alex Greenwood.
Meanwhile, Glasgow City finish the season trophy-less for the first time since 2005 with all silverware heading the way of the Old Firm, after losing 3-2 against Celtic in the Scottish Cup final.
