Scotland Women 0-6 England: Three things we learned

By Jessica Elliott

Scotland were thrashed 6-0 by England at Hampden Park as the English looked to secure their place at the Paris Olympics. Let’s take a look at everything of note from the heavy defeat:

It was a tough night for Scotland as the Lionesses ran riot (Image: Getty Images)

Team GB won’t be at the Paris Olympics

The England players show appreciation to their fans after Team GB’s absence from next summer’s Olympics was confirmed (Image: Getty Images)

 

England went into this game tied on points with the Netherlands at the top of Group A1, but they were determined to do all they could to overtake the Dutch on goal difference.

 

After England had put five past Scotland, Great Britain was set to qualify for the Paris Olympics on goals scored. At that point, the Netherlands had a 2-0 lead against Belgium.

 

The Netherlands would score a third to move into first place in the group, but right as they did, a header from Lucy Bronze found the back of the net and reclaimed the top spot for England in the 90th minute of the game.

 

A few minutes later, the Netherlands added a fourth to their goal tally to strike disappointment into the England side that fought so hard for what they thought was destined to be qualification.

 

Team GB could have also included Scottish players, meaning there are no positives for the home side to take out of this destruction.

Questions need to be asked of Pedro

The Scotland manager is under pressure after a disappointing Nations League campaign (Image: Getty Images)

 

Pedro Martinez Losa was appointed head coach of Scotland Women in July 2021. Despite failing to qualify for the 2023 World Cup after losing a play-off final to Ireland, he signed a contract extension until 2027 in September 2023 – after the loss to England, some fans are calling for him to be sacked.

 

Martinez Losa certainly needs to go back to the drawing board as his Scotland team did not win a single game during their UEFA Women’s Nations League campaign. Their only points came from two draws with Belgium.

 

In a post-match interview with BBC Scotland, he took responsibility for the defeat but also defended his game plan. He said: “Today was not a question of the game plan - I think the game plan was okay - it was about the execution, and it was a question of how the opponent overcame the difficulties of the game and the desire they put into the result.”

 

Scotland were under pressure for the majority of the game, especially in their own half. England set up with a high press while Scotland were trying to build up from the back. This allowed England to have more chances to pounce, especially in dangerous areas

All eyes on Euros qualification

 

With qualifiers for the 2025 Women’s Euros set to begin early next year, Scotland must reset and rebuild from the ground up.

 

It’s clear that Pedro isn’t getting anything out of this squad at the moment, so if he does stay in the role of head coach, do Scotland stand any chance of making it through?

SportJessica Elliott