SCOTLAND head coach Shelley Kerr says she can’t wait to be reunited with her squad when they play Albania and Finland in Euro 2022 qualifying later this month.
Kerr has named 25 players for the matches against Albania at Tynecastle on October 23 and Finland in Helsinki four days later. That’s two more than usual and takes account of the domestic season only starting on October 18, while in England heavy demands are being made on the players who form the majority of the squad.
“We’re mindful the league in Scotland doesn’t start until a week on Sunday,” Kerr confirmed. “They’ll potentially only have one game before they come into camp.
“Down south they’re playing almost three times a week. We have to factor in that the players might be a bit vulnerable in that some have played lots of minutes while others haven’t played enough.”
Scotland’s last game against Northern Ireland in March, at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia, made it five wins from five for Kerr’s side since the traumatic 3-3 draw against Argentina in Paris which saw Scotland eliminated from the World Cup. The run of wins includes the opening two Group E qualifiers against Cyprus and Albania, but the return game against Cyprus and a home one against Portugal were postponed last month due to the pandemic.
The head coach admits she hasn’t found the pandemic easy to come to terms with, she said: “Your mindful that people are losing their lives, that families are in turmoil, and you sometimes feel a bit selfish when football is your world.”
“But it is my world and I have to say I’ve struggled with not being able to interact with human beings. It’s just me and the dog, so it has been tough.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of players on the phone, watched a lot of footage and I’ve been very busy – but ultimately I want to be on the pitch coaching the players. Once we get together with the squad I’m going to be like a kid at Christmas.”
Arsenal midfielder Kim Little, who missed the three-match Pinatar Cup tournament, which Scotland won, returns and her club team-mate Jen Beattie is also available again. A third player from the London club, Lisa Evans, has a calf injury and drops out.
While only seven of the squad are from Scottish Building Society SWPL clubs, three of them – goalkeeper Jenna Fife, full back Nicola Docherty and winger Lizzie Arnot – are with Rangers. In recent years Glasgow City and Hibernian have supplied all the domestic players, but Rangers’ move to a fully professional status is reflected in Kerr’s selections – another in the squad, Glasgow City midfielder Sam Kerr, will also join Rangers on a pre-contract deal at the end of the year.
Several of the 17 English-based players changed clubs during the summer, while captain Rachel Corsie and winger Claire Emslie have moved to Birmingham City and Everton respectively on loan deals from their clubs in the United States. Unusually, the only player in the squad not playing in the UK is goalkeeper Shannon Lynn, who is at the Swedish club Vittsjo.
The game against Finland will be one of the pivotal Group E matches. Kerr’s long time Scotland predecessor, Anna Signeul, is now in charge of the Finns, who lead the group.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here