THE World Cup draw in Paris on December 8 is set to bring down the curtain on a momentous year for Shelley Kerr, her backroom staff and players. An enormous amount of work has gone into making 2018 the huge success it has been, and the rewards are being reaped ahead of next summer's World Cup in France.
Already it looks as if Scotland will be among the top seeds for the Euro 2021 draw; if that materialises it will massively increase the chances of Kerr's side qualifying for a third successive major championship. The upgrading is a consequence of Scotland being placed ninth in the latest Uefa co-efficient review – and 2021 qualification takes on an extra significance because England are set to be hosts.
“It has been one bit of good news after the other,” the Scotland head coach said. “The players deserve it, because they have worked tirelessly.”
Her side's performance against the USA in Paisley on Tuesday was really pleasing and confirmed that as well as becoming more dynamic, the players' mental toughness is improving. The front four were superb, giving the world champions no time to settle on the ball and impose themselves, while Jen Beattie and Caroline Weir were also stand-outs along with captain Rachel Corsie.
Weir has looked a different player since her move from Liverpool to Manchester City, and although Beattie had a mixed qualifying campaign, the central defender showed what she is capable of on Tuesday night. It was a much more pro-active performance from the 27-year-old, with Kerr full of praise for her interceptions and ball-winning, while describing her passing as outstanding.
Kerr's USA counterpart, Jill Ellis, spoke admiringly of Scotland's organisation, game plan and attitude. Scotland have always found it hard to compete against fitter, more physical, sides, so this was unquestionably a breakthrough, albeit in a friendly.
“The worst thing about a narrow defeat against the USA is some people think we now have a chance of winning the World Cup,” Kerr laughed. “But joking aside it has maybe now hit home to the players what a good team they are – because we're sick of telling them.
“I think they are genuinely starting to believe that – and although it depends on the draw our target will be to progress beyond the group stage in France.”
IF the national team is the swan sailing serenely on the surface, Saturday's annual general meeting of Scottish Women's Football is likely to have stormy undercurrents.
It is understood clubs will be asked to vote on three fixture models for 2019, with none of them likely to be palatable. As in 2017, Scotland's qualification for a major championship, followed by the Uefa under-19 tournament, is going to have a massively disruptive bearing on the so-called summer season.
The months of June and July have been wiped out, with fixtures expected to start at the beginning of February and end late in November. It is also understood one of the models has the SWPL clubs playing each other twice next year, and not three times as per usual.
Hosting the U19 Euros might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but it's not looking that way now. Especially as the players involved in Pauline Hamill's squad will be playing no competitive games for four or five weeks before the tournament begins.
Club coaches, meanwhile, are tearing their hair out at the prospect of an even worse stop-start season. The situation is unfair on them and their players – with some also asking why next year's fixtures were not mapped out before now.
THIS month Lisa Robertson talked about her burning ambition to play for Scotland, and now the Hibernian midfielder has joined FA Championship side Durham. The club are fourth behind Spurs, Manchester United and Charlton in the table, and while it's not great for the domestic game to lose yet another top player, Robertson's move to a higher level of football is understandable.
She joins former Hibs goalkeeper Hannah Reid, Zoe Ness and Kathryn Hill at the club.
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