SHELLEY Kerr will be out of the 2018 blocks quickly on Wednesday when she announces her squad for January’s friendlies against Norway and Russia.
The games, both of which are being played in the south of Spain, are the first of 10 scheduled for the national side next year and Kerr knows what is top of her wish list.
“That’s a no-brainer, isn’t it?” she responds. “Obviously qualifying for the World Cup – and by whatever means. We’ve got off to a good start but I’m not naive. It’s going to be a tough ask for us in terms of the other teams in the group.”
The head coach and her players will be based in La Manga for the games against Norway on January 19 and Russia three days later. There will then be a double-header of friendlies against New Zealand in March, again in Spain but at a different location.
The competitive action begins the following month. Having got Group 2 off to a good start with wins over Belarus (away) and Albania (home), six games remain between April and September.
The first two, on April 5 and 10, will give a realistic appraisal of whether Scotland can win the group and land the prize of a first World Cup qualification. Finishing second still offers the prospect of spending the summer of 2019 in France, but it’s a slim one as only one of the seven group runners-up will make the finals.
First up in April is a trip to play top seeds Switzerland, who have already played four qualifiers, winning every one. Then it’s back home to play third seeds Poland five days later. Anything less than three points from these two games would make France almost unattainable, four would be very acceptable, while six would make Scotland the favourites to qualify.
Thereafter the key dates are the trip to Poland on June 12 and the home game against Switzerland on August 30. The qualifying campaign winds up with an away tie in Albania on September 4.
The hope will be that vice-captain Kim Little and Hibernian forward Lizzie Arnot have recovered from their anterior cruciate ligament injuries to take a full part in the qualifying games. To have them available for the New Zealand friendlies in March would be the ideal scenario.
IT is fortunate for Kerr that so many of her key players now play in England and will be match fit for the Norway and Russia games. Others, including captain Rachel Corsie and those who are based in Scotland and Sweden, are in their close seasons.
The Norwegians, who are No 14 in the Fifa rankings, and Russia (25) are, of course, in similar positions. They offer different challenges and the opportunity for the head coach to utilise her full squad.
Scotland were beaten 4-0 by Norway in a friendly at Firhill the last time the nations met in September 2015. Kerr, meanwhile, was a member of the side which lost to Russia on away goals in the play-off for Euro 2009.
The former central defender hopes to have a permanent goalkeeping coach in place for the La Manga trip. She recruited the Scottish FA's head of goalkeeping, Fraser Stewart, on a temporary basis for the first two qualifiers and he has been advising on the new appointment.
“It's the final part of the jigsaw,” Kerr said. “It has been fantastic having Fraser in to assess the goalkeepers, what they need, and who is the best person to take over. I'm pretty sure we've got it right.”
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