Scotland women's national football team

The Scotland women's national football team represents Scotland in international women's football competitions. Since 1998, the team has been governed by the Scottish Football Association (SFA). Although Scotland never participated into an international competition such as UEFA Women's Euro nor FIFA Women's World Cup, it is currently ranked 21st in the FIFA Women's World Rankings.

Contents 1 History 2 Record 2.1 World Cup 2.2 Olympics 2.3 European Championship 2.4 Unofficial competition 2.5 Other tournaments 3 Media coverage 4 Stadium 5 Players 5.1 Current squad 5.2 Recent players 5.3 Honoured players 6 Recent results and forthcoming fixtures 6.1 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification 6.2 UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying 6.3 International tournaments and challenge matches 7 Coaching staff 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

History
Church documents recorded women playing football in Carstairs, Lanarkshire, in 1628.[3] Scotland first played a women's international match in May 1881.[3] Women's football struggled for recognition during this early period and was banned by the football authorities in 1921.[3] Club sides who were interested in using their grounds for women's football were subsequently denied permission by the Scottish Football Association (SFA).[3] The sport continued on an unofficial basis until the 1970s, when the ban was lifted.[3] In 1971 UEFA instructed its members to take control of women's football within their territories. The motion was passed 31–1, but Scotland was the only member to vote against it.[4] Football in Scotland has traditionally been seen as a working class and male preserve.[5]

Scotland's first official match, a 3–2 defeat to England, took place in November 1972. The team was managed by Rab Stewart. The 1921 ban on women's football was lifted in 1974. The SFA assumed direct responsibility for Scottish women's football in 1998.[5] Scotland have participated in most international competitions since the ban was removed, but have not qualified for a major tournament. The team's standing has improved significantly in recent years, reaching an all-time high of 19th place in the FIFA Women's World Rankings in March 2014.[1][6][7]

Record
Scotland playing a 2015 World Cup qualifying match in Sweden World Cup

World Cup finals

Year

Result

GP

W

D*

L

GF

GA

GD

China 1991 Did not enter - - - - - - - Sweden 1995 Did not qualify - - - - - - - United States 1999 Did not qualify - - - - - - - United States 2003 Did not qualify - - - - - - - China 2007 Did not qualify - - - - - - - Germany 2011 Did not qualify - - - - - - - Canada 2015 Did not qualify - - - - - - - Total 0/7 - - - - - - - Olympics
 * Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Main article: Great Britain women's Olympic football team

Though Scotland has not previously qualified for the Summer Olympics since the women's football tournament was added in 1996, because the United Kingdom was host to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the Great Britain women's Olympic football team was founded and featured two players from Scotland: Kim Little and Ifeoma Dieke.[8][9]

European Championship European Competition for Women's Football: 1984: Group stage 1987: Group stage 1989: Group stage

UEFA Women's Championship: 1991: Did not enter 1993: Did not qualify 1995: Did not qualify 1997: Did not qualify 2001: Did not qualify 2005: Did not qualify 2009: Did not qualify 2013: Did not qualify

Unofficial competition World Cup 1970: Did not compete[10] 1971: Did not compete[11] 1978: Did not compete[12] 1981: Did not compete[12] 1984: Did not compete[12] 1987: Did not compete[12]

European Competition 1969: Did not participate[13] 1979: Group stage[14]

Other tournaments

Year

Competition

Result

GP

W

D*

L

GS

GA

Ref

England 1976 Three Nations Championship 2nd 2 1 0 1 3 6 Italy 1979 European Competition Group 2 0 1 1 0 2 [15] Bulgaria 1992 Varna Tournament 7th 3 2 0 1 5 2 [16] Bulgaria 1999 Albena Cup 2nd 5 1 3 1 9 7 [17] Bulgaria 2000 Albena Cup 5th 4 2 1 1 10 5 [18] Northern Ireland 2000 Celt Cup 3rd 2 1 0 1 27 1 [19] Netherlands 2000 Veenendal Tournament 3rd 2 0 1 1 3 5 [20] Portugal 2002 Algarve Cup 10th 4 2 0 2 4 8 [21] Italy 2006 Torneo Regione Molise 3rd 2 0 0 2 0 8 [22] Cyprus 2008 Cyprus Cup 6th 3 0 0 3 3 5 [23] Cyprus 2009 Cyprus Cup 7th 4 1 0 3 2 8 Cyprus 2010 Cyprus Cup 7th 4 1 0 3 3 10 Cyprus 2011 Cyprus Cup 4th 4 1 1 2 2 4 Cyprus 2012 Cyprus Cup 9th 4 2 0 2 6 8 Cyprus 2013 Cyprus Cup 5th 4 2 1 1 7 6 Brazil 2013 Brazilian Invitational 4th 4 0 0 4 4 10 [24] Cyprus 2014 Cyprus Cup 4th 4 2 2 0 10 7 Cyprus 2015 Cyprus Cup 7th 4 2 0 2 7 7 Total  61 20 10 31 105 109
 * Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Media coverage
Scotland women's internationals have been televised by BBC Alba and broadcast by BBC Radio Scotland.[25] BBC Radio Scotland presenter Tam Cowan was temporarily taken off the air in 2013, after he criticised the use of Fir Park for women's internationals in his Daily Record column.[26] In a November 2013 interview with The Independent newspaper, Laura Montgomery of Glasgow City FC suggested that media coverage of women's football in Scotland often reflected sexist and misogynist attitudes. This is due to a preponderance of "stupid male journalists", according to Montgomery.[27]

Stadium
Ravenscraig Stadium hosted the first official match played by the Scotland women's team, in November 1972. The first official match played by the Scotland women's team was hosted by the Ravenscraig Stadium, an athletics facility in Greenock. The team now normally plays its home games at (men's) club stadiums. Venues used in recent years include Fir Park in Motherwell, Tynecastle Stadium in Edinburgh and St Mirren Park in Paisley.[26][28] Hampden Park in Glasgow is the traditional home of the men's national team and is described by the Scottish Football Association as the National Stadium.[29] A Scotland women's international was played at Hampden for the first time in October 2012, when it hosted the first leg of a European Championship qualifying playoff against Spain.[30] Earlier in 2012, Hampden had hosted matches in the Olympic women's football tournament.

Players
Main page: Category:Scotland women's international footballers

Current squad

The following players were selected for the games against Iceland and Belarus in June 2016.[31] As of 18 May 2016



Pos.

Player

Date of birth (age)

Caps

Goals

Club

GK Lee Alexander 23 September 1991 (age 24) 0 0 Sweden Mallbackens IF GK Gemma Fay (Captain) 9 December 1981 (age 34) 191 0 Scotland Glasgow City GK Shannon Lynn 22 October 1985 (age 30) 16 0 Sweden Vittsjö GIK

DF Jennifer Beattie 13 May 1991 (age 25) 99 22 England Manchester City DF Rachel Corsie 17 August 1989 (age 26) 83 16 United States Seattle Reign DF Ifeoma Dieke 25 February 1981 (age 35) 109 0 Sweden Vittsjö GIK DF Emma Mitchell 7 November 1986 (age 29) 44 7 England Arsenal DF Joelle Murray 7 November 1986 (age 29) 36 1 Scotland Hibernian DF Kirsty Smith 6 January 1994 (age 22) 13 0 Scotland Hibernian

MF Leanne Crichton 6 August 1987 (age 28) 38 3 England Notts County MF Erin Cuthbert 19 July 1998 (age 17) 0 0 Scotland Glasgow City MF Kim Little 29 June 1990 (age 25) 115 46 United States Seattle Reign MF Joanne Love 6 December 1985 (age 30) 168 12 Scotland Glasgow City MF Christie Murray 3 May 1990 (age 26) 41 3 Scotland Celtic MF Leanne Ross 8 July 1981 (age 34) 120 8 Scotland Glasgow City MF Caroline Weir 20 June 1995 (age 20) 26 5 England Liverpool

FW Lizzie Arnot 1 March 1996 (age 20) 6 0 Scotland Hibernian FW Lisa Evans 21 May 1992 (age 24) 48 12 Germany FC Bayern Munich FW Zoe Ness 24 March 1996 (age 20) 0 0 Sweden Mallbackens IF FW Jane Ross 18 September 1989 (age 26) 92 44 England Manchester City

Recent players

The following players have been selected by Scotland in the past 12 months, but were not selected in the June 2016 squad, or withdrew from that squad due to injury or suspension.

Pos.

Player

Date of birth (age)

Caps

Goals

Club

Latest call-up

GK Megan Cunningham 14 July 1995 (age 20) 2 0 Scotland Celtic v. Slovenia, 8 April 2016

DF Chloe Arthur 21 January 1995 (age 21) 6 0 England Bristol City v. Slovenia, 8 April 2016 DF Nicola Docherty 23 August 1992 (age 23) 11 0 Scotland Glasgow City v. Slovenia, 8 April 2016 DF Frankie Brown 8 October 1987 (age 28) 77 0 England Bristol City v. Spain, 8 March 2016 DF Eilish McSorley 24 April 1993 (age 23) 20 0 Sweden Mallbackens IF v. Macedonia, 27 October 2015 DF Heather Richards 16 February 1994 (age 22) 4 0 Scotland Hibernian v. Slovenia, 22 September 2015

MF Hayley Lauder 4 June 1990 (age 26) 75 9 Scotland Glasgow City v. Slovenia, 8 April 2016

FW Lana Clelland 26 January 1993 (age 23) 11 1 Italy UPC Tavagnacco v. Slovenia, 8 April 2016

Honoured players

The SFA operates a roll of honour for every male player who has made more than 50 appearances for Scotland.[32] However, female players are excluded from the list. The Scottish Football Museum operates a hall of fame based at Hampden Park, which is open to players and managers involved in Scottish football.[33] 2007 entrant Rose Reilly is the only woman to be inducted so far. Sportscotland operates the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame, which has inducted some footballers, also including Reilly.

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures
Main article: Scotland women's national football team 2010–19 results

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Main articles: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4 and 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA play-offs

Pos

Team v · t · e

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Qualification

1 Sweden 10 10 0 0 32 1 +31 30 Women's World Cup

2 Scotland 10 8 0 2 37 8 +29 24 Play-offs

3 Poland 10 5 1 4 20 14 +6 16

4 Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 2 3 5 7 19 −12 9

5 Northern Ireland 10 1 2 7 3 19 −16 5

6 Faroe Islands 10 0 2 8 3 41 −38 2

Source: UEFA Rules for classification: Tiebreakers Playoff semi-final

25 October 2014 18:30

Scotland

1–2

Netherlands

Little Goal 49' (pen.) Report Martens Goal 10' Melis Goal 23' (pen.)

Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh Referee: Kateryna Monzul (Ukraine)

30 October 2014 19:00

Netherlands

2–0

Scotland

Martens Goal 51' Melis Goal 77' Report

Sparta Stadion, Rotterdam Referee: Esther Staubli (Switzerland)

Netherlands won 4–1 on aggregate and advanced to the playoff final.

UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying

Main article: UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying Group 1

Pos

Team v · t · e

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Qualification

1 Iceland 5 5 0 0 21 0 +21 15 Final tournament

2 Scotland (X) 6 5 0 1 27 6 +21 15 Final tournament or Play-offs

3 Slovenia 6 3 0 3 21 13 +8 9

4 Belarus (E) 5 1 0 4 2 17 −15 3

5 Macedonia (E) 6 0 0 6 2 37 −35 0

Updated to match(es) played on 3 June 2016. Source: UEFA Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers (E) Eliminated; (X) Assured of at least play-offs.

International tournaments and challenge matches

8 February 2015 Challenge match Northern Ireland 0–4  Scotland [show]Solitude, Belfast

Goal Goal

4 March 2015 Cyprus Cup Group B Scotland 0–2  Canada [show]GSP Stadium, Nicosia

Goal Goal

6 March 2015 Cyprus Cup Group B Italy 3–2  Scotland [show]GSZ Stadium, Larnaca

Goal Goal Goal Goal

9 March 2015 Cyprus Cup Group B Scotland 2–1  South Korea [show]GSZ Stadium, Larnaca

Goal Goal Goal

11 March 2015 Seventh place match Netherlands 1–3  Scotland [show]Ammochostos Stadium, Larnaca

Goal Goal

9 April 2015 Challenge match Scotland 1–1  Australia [show]Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk

Goal Goal

28 May 2015 Challenge match France 1–0  Scotland [show]Stade Marcel Picot, Nancy

Goal

17 September 2015 Challenge match Scotland 0–4  Norway [show]Firhill Stadium, Glasgow

Goal Goal Goal Goal

26 January 2016 Challenge match Sweden 6–0  Scotland [show]Prioritet Serneke Arena, Gothenburg

Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal

8 March 2016 Challenge match Scotland 1–1  Spain [show]Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk

Goal Goal

Coaching staff
Anna Signeul in 2014Head coach: Anna Signeul[34] Assistant coach: Ann-Helen Grahm[35] Under-19 coach: Gareth Evans[36]