ONLY one of the seven UEFA groups has still to find an automatic qualifier for next year's World Cup in Canada, and it is to Scotland's credit that they have pushed Sweden, the third highest ranked nation in Europe, right down to the wire.
In the wake of Anna Signeul's side dismantling of the Faroe Islands 9-0 at Fir Park on Saturday, the two top teams in Group 4 will meet for the right to join England, Switzerland, Germany, France, Norway and Spain in Canada. Saturday's result means that Scotland go into the showdown with a superior goal difference, but the Swedes remain the overwhelming favourites to grab the final automatic place.
With both sides having won their eight other group matches, qualification now hinges around the 3-1 win Sweden achieved when the teams met at Fir Park in June. If Scotland could reverse the scoreline, or better, they would go through, but they will have to overcome a confident home team and their passionate supporters at the Ullevi.
What Saturday's result, with Jane Ross notching a hat trick, did achieve was a definite place in the four team play-offs for Canada. It's the first time Scotland have got themselves into this position, and provides a welcome insurance policy if Signeul's side falls short in Gothenburg.
"We know it's going to be a very different game in Gothenburg, but the goal was to get the job done against the Faroes and we did that," confirmed central defender Rachel Corsie, who scored two of the goals in the rout. "We had to win by a convincing score and give ourselves a chance of qualifying automatically when we play the final group game. Goal difference could now come into play and we would have been disappointed if that had stopped us going through. We've now covered all the bases."
Corsie, who was dropped back from the holding midfield position she occupied in the previous two games because Ifeoma Dieke was a late call-off, wants her side to give it their all in a city where the team she supports, Aberdeen, famously beat Real Madrid to win the European Cup Winners Cup in 1983. "We can play with freedom and even if we don't qualify automatically we want to come away with a great performance we can take into the play-offs," she said.
"We were disappointed how we played against Sweden in the home tie. We know we could have done better, especially in the manner we lost the three goals. We can test top nations better than that, so we can go to their home now and perhaps cause a bit of an upset."
There was no chance of an upset at Fir Park as soon as Kim Little celebrated her 100th cap by putting Scotland ahead in only six minutes. Further goals from Caroline Weir - her first for Scotland - and Ross made it 3-0 with just five more minutes played. Scotland were bogged down by a congested midfield and penalty area for the rest of the half, but in the second period added six more through Leanne Crichton and Jenny Beattie as well as Ross and Corsie. Ross's hat trick was her third in qualifying and made her joint top scorer in all seven UEFA groups.
With the Sweden game on their minds, the fact the win gave them an insurance policy was overlooked by many in the Scotland camp, but Corsie set the record straight.
"Qualifying for the play-offs is a huge achievement even if the girls haven't quite taken it in because of Wednesday night," she pointed out. "Everybody should take what we have already done on board and celebrate it in the right way. We need to appreciate the opportunities we have and this could become very special."
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