Easter Road hosts the first leg of Scotland’s crucial double-header against Finland on Friday night, with both teams vying for a place at next summer’s European Championships in Switzerland.
The Scots currently sit 23rd in the world rankings. Meanwhile, Finland sits just below in 26th. The home side will be hoping to build on their impressive seven-game unbeaten run as they look to qualify for their first major tournament since Shelley Kerr’s 2019 World Cup team.
In what is arguably the most exciting group of players Scotland have produced in recent years, former Scotland international Suzanne Mulvey backs Pedro La Mosa and his squad to deliver performances that can take them to the Euros.
La Mosa, who has been at the helm for three years has come under fire with recent squad selections. A few eyebrows were raised with the exclusion of youngsters Kirsty MacLean and Emma Lawton from his most recent squad announcement. Mulvey, however, believes this is down to “not wanting to rock the boat” and keeping a consistency in the squad for these vital games.
Speaking to Edinburgh Napier News, the ex-Glasgow City and Motherwell forward said:
“If Scotland’s big players, like returning Caroline Weir turn up, they will have more than enough to gain a positive result on Friday to take to Finland with them”.
The Real Madrid forward has been in top form since returning from an ACL injury that resulted in a long-term layoff and over a year-long absence from the national team set-up. Weir, who will be looking to qualify for her 3rd major international tournament, insists her side is better equipped to progress after previous playoff heartache:
“We’ve been through the playoff process before and know how tough it can be. That disappointment [from previous playoffs], it makes us resilient. We’re determined and ready to go and compete against Finland”.
If Scotland qualifies for this tournament, there is a strong suggestion they could go one better than Shelley Kerr’s class of 2019 and make it out of the group stages. Suzanne Mulvey highlighted the balance of youth and experience being the difference between the two squads.
Under the floodlights, Scotland will hope to be roared on by a large crowd as they look to take a positive result into the away leg in Helsinki next Tuesday.
