WITH ten players, including several first team regulars, ruled out of tonight’s friendly against Belgium, Scotland head coach Anna Signeul will have to give a debut to at least one of her five uncapped squad players in Leuven.
Nine of the unavailable players are out through injury. A tenth, Chelsea teenager Erin Cuthbert, was captain of the Scotland under-19 side which qualified for their Euro finals by winning all three elite round matches last week.
Signeul’s biggest problem is in central defence, where three of her four regulars are missing. She has drafted in a trio of players who have never been in a match squad before.
Two, Vaila Barsley and Sophie Howard, are Scottish-qualified by blood line, while the third is Celtic captain Kelly Clark. Barsley, whose mother is from Shetland, captains top Swedish side Eskilstuna United and Howard is with Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.
“The players who have come in have all competed very well in the training sessions,” Signeul reported. “You can feel they are really keen to show they should be in the squad for the Euros.”
Barsley, who is 29 and at 6ft once scored nine headers in a season for Eskilstuna, is likely to get the nod over the other two – but they could also feature during the game as all three have impressed Signeul.
Belgium are also in the Euros having, like Scotland, qualified for their first-ever major championship in the Netherlands this summer.
The Belgians lost 4-1 to Scotland’s Euro group opponents Spain in a friendly on Saturday – but with so many of her own players out tonight’s game is less of a benchmark for Signeul than an opportunity to assess fresh options.
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