Scotland Women captain Rachel Corsie has backed her squad to come back stronger after their 2023 World Cup qualifying heartbreak.
The Scots failed to qualify for the major tournament, which will be held in New Zealand and Australia, after being beaten 1-0 by Republic of Ireland in their play-off final.
Ireland scored the only goal at Hampden in the 71st minute, as a below-par Scotland were left to rue a missed first-half penalty, which proved to be their best chance of the game.
It means Scotland have failed to qualify for back-to-back major tournaments, having also missed out on this summer’s Euros, which was hosted by England.
Aberdonian Corsie admits it will take some time to get over the hurt of failing to qualify for the World Cup, but she has backed Scotland to come back stronger.
The next set of qualifiers – for the 2025 Euros – will commence next year, where Scotland’s bid to reach their first major tournament since 2019 will begin again.
The Scotland skipper said: “It can be difficult in the moment right to see our feeling in any of that, but this squad is resilient and I know we’ve been through a lot before.
“I know that we’ve progressed and come out of it, and found a way to be stronger – we’ll do that again and we’ll do it together.
“If you look at the performances we’ve had this year, I think there’s clear progress. Last night wasn’t the best example of that, but there’s unity and togetherness.
“We’ve seen a lot of players really develop and step up. There’s been a lot of top performances, and I think Austria (1-0 play-off semi-final win) was another great example of that.
“But sadly, last night, it was less so about a great performance, but finding a way to win the game. It was a cup final, and it’s really difficult to be on the wrong end of that.”
‘Never a question mark over commitment or motivation’
Corsie says, when the squad next come together they will regroup, and make sure the disappointment of not qualifying doesn’t loom large.
But she admits things need to improve if Scotland are to compete at the highest level, with other countries who are making considerable progress.
Scotland head coach, Pedro Martínez Losa, reflected on the journey his squad have been on through this qualifying campaign when speaking after tonight's match.#SWNT pic.twitter.com/iwypkNt47b
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) October 11, 2022
She said: “There’s never a question mark over people’s commitment or motivation. I’ve never experienced that whilst I’ve played for the national team.
“And I don’t think I ever will, because I think that’s part of who we are as Scotland – there’s no better feeling than turning up and working hard to represent your country.
“I have absolutely no doubt that when we’re back together there will be more motivation and more hunger to keep improving.
“Every one is going to have to keep improving. Every nation is trying to close the gap and trying to get better. Top nations are doing that, too.
“So, you constantly have to be driving forward and that doesn’t change because we didn’t qualify for next year’s tournament.”
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