Shelley Kerr has named her first Scotland squad for seven months as her side prepare to continue their quest for Women’s EURO qualification.
Scotland have already been in action this year, beating Northern Ireland, Iceland and Ukraine in Spain and Kerr has named a consistent 25 player squad for the upcoming matches.
Included in the squad is Hibs’ player Rachael Boyle whilst Former Hibs’ player Lucy Graham retains her place in the team having impressed at the Pinatar Cup and captaining Everton to an FA Cup Final spot where they will take on Manchester City at Wembley.
Scotland currently sit in second spot in the qualifying group, four points off top spot with two games in hand. Finland top the group, a side managed by former Scotland head coach Anna Signeul.
Kerr told the SFA website: “It feels really good as we’ve not had football to look forward to since the Pinatar Cup back in March. We’ve already been to a EURO Finals and we want to reach another. This is another step towards achieving that goal and it’s an exciting time.
“It’s been difficult but at the forefront of my mind has been that this is a global pandemic and football is secondary. You just need to find a different way of working and engaging with different people. It’s been really good recently for me being able to watch a lot of games recently, especially down south as the players have been involved in some big games.
“It’s exciting that we’ve got the prospect of these two matches. It was the right decision to postpone the September fixtures as the players would have been vulnerable in terms of where they were at physically, with not having played many games.
“It was a fantastic experience for the team in March as we achieved all of our objectives, winning the Pinatar Cup and experimenting with our squad.
“The squad is strong. We still have some players who are not available but it’s a competitive squad and that’s what we’ve always set out to do. I’ve been really impressed with Lucy Graham recently who has captained Everton well, getting to the FA Cup Final.
“I’ve been really impressed with Kirsty Hanson for Manchester United, who missed out last time round due to an ankle injury. She won Player of the Month in England recently too.
“ I think we’ll deal well with it all as a lot of our players have experienced the rigorous testing procedures at their clubs. There will be a few changes within camps with players having their own room and meal times being staggered.
“We’ve got the experience of Doctor John MacLean and Graeme Jones, our High Performance Manager who have been instrumental in terms of putting the protocols together for the return of international matches in Scotland. We’ve also got an intelligent group of players who understand the protocols. Myself and the coaching staff just can’t wait to get back out on the training pitch.
“We know Albania well and I think they’re getting better and better. They’ve got some good individual players. They’ll shoot from distance and try and play a bit too. If we give them time and space they’ll give us problems.
“Finland are very strong and well organised by my old coach Anna Signeul who I’ve got a lot of respect for. They’ll be a tough opponent to play against and they’ve proved to be a talented side so far in the group, scoring a late equaliser against Portugal. These are the games you want to be involved in.
Scotland Women’s Squad
Goalkeepers Lee Alexander (Glasgow City), Jenna Fife (Rangers), Shannon Lynn (Vittsjö GIK)
Defenders Jen Beattie (Arsenal), Rachael Boyle (Hibernian), Rachel Corsie (Birmingham City *) Nicola Docherty (Rangers), Hannah Godfrey (Tottenham Hotspur), Sophie Howard (Leicester City), Emma Mitchell (Reading), Kirsty Smith (Manchester United)
Midfielders Chloe Arthur (Aston Villa), Leanne Crichton (Glasgow City), Lucy Graham (Everton), Samantha Kerr (Glasgow City), Kim Little (Arsenal), Christie Murray (Birmingham City), Caroline Weir (Manchester City)
Forwards Lizzie Arnot (Rangers), Erin Cuthbert (Chelsea), Claire Emslie (Everton**), Abbi Grant (Birmingham City), Kirsty Hanson (Manchester United), Jane Ross (Manchester United), Martha Thomas (West Ham United), *On loan from Utah Royals**On loan from Orlando Pride
UEFA Women’s EURO 2021 Qualifier
Scotland v Albania
Friday, 23 October 2020, kick-off 7.30pm
Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh
Live on BBC ALBA
UEFA Women’s EURO 2021 Qualifier
Finland v Scotland
Tuesday, 27 October 2020, kick-off 4.15pm (UK time)
Bolt Arena, Helsinki
Live on BBC ALBA
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
