SCOTLAND have been drawn with Israel, Serbia and Slovakia in qualifying for Uefa Women's Euro 2025 as they look to make it to Switzerland next year.
The group games will take place between April and July this year, with some raising concerns around "safety" as Scotland are set to play Israel amid its bombardment of Gaza.
Scotland will play each side in their group home and away. And because Scotland are in League B, their route to the tournament has to be via the play-offs after the group stage.
Scotland will be expected to finish well in the group given they are ranked 25th in the world, which is 11 places above Serbia and well in front of Slovakia in 49th and Israel in 69th.
Head coach Pedro Martinez Losa insisted that the task for Scotland’s women is "straightforward".
Scotland previously qualified for Euro 2017. They went out at the group stage but famously beat Spain thanks to a Caroline Weir goal.
Glasgow councillor Holly Bruce expressed concerns about the tie with Israel after receiving “many emails” from “concerned constituents”.
Following todays women’s world cup draw, which resulted in Scotland being placed in a group with Israel, I have received many emails from concerned constituents.
— Cllr Holly Bruce (@cllrhollybruce) March 5, 2024
“With the matches scheduled to take place at @HampdenPark, I have huge safety concerns and will write to them and @ScotWFootball to request a meeting to discuss this in more detail,” she wrote on Twitter/X.
“I love this game. I love watching football and playing football, but some things are bigger than sport.
“This tournament is taking place against a backdrop of women and children being murdered in Gaza. @FIFAcom @FIFAWWC should follow their own lead and ban Israel from competing on the international stage, as they did with Russia during the Ukrainian invasion."
She added: “I want to be clear that my issue stands wholly with the Israel genocidal government not with the athletes or with the Israeli people. We need a ceasefire now.”
Here are the groups in full:
- Group A1: Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Finland
- Group A2: Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Czech Republic Group
- A3: France, England, Sweden, Republic of Ireland Group
- A4: Germany, Austria, Iceland, Poland Group
- B1: Switzerland, Hungary, Turkey, Azerbaijan Group
- B2: Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Israel Group
- B3: Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Malta Group
- B4: Wales, Croatia, Ukraine, Kosovo Group
- C1: Belarus, Lithuania, Cyprus, Georgia Group
- C2: Slovenia, Latvia, North Macedonia, Moldova
- Group C3: Greece, Montenegro, Andorra, Faroe Islands Group
- C4: Romania, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Armenia Group
- C5: Albania, Estonia, Luxembourg
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