England 2-1 Scotland: 'VAR penalty knocked wind out our sails' - Erin Cuthbert

Erin Cuthbert says the VAR decision that led to England's opening goal knocked Scotland off their stride in their World Cup opener in Nice.

Shelley Kerr's side slipped to a 2-1 defeat on their finals debut in France.

Nikita Parris netting the opener after the video referees ruled that Nicola Docherty had handled in the area.

"We had a good start and I think we're really unlucky with the VAR decision - it's knocked the wind out of our sails," forward Cuthbert said.

"But, if you put your hands up, you always leave yourself with a risk. These things happen in football."

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Chelsea 20-year-old Cuthbert pointed out that the Scots had stood toe-to-toe with the side sitting third in the world rankings up until that 14th-minute penalty.

"We were on the front foot and had comfortable possession," she told BBC Scotland. "They then have the momentum - we need to find way to react to these moments.

"Playing with VAR was different, interesting, disappointing when it went to VAR with handball."

Ellen White added a second for Phil Neville's side before Claire Emslie reduced the deficit in the second half in Nice, netting Scotland Women's first-ever World Cup goal.

While Cuthbert was pleased with the Scots' "really spirited" second-half display, she admitted they had given their opposition "too much respect".

"We can't let our heads go down like that and let it get to half time and then regroup," she said. "At 2-0 to the team ranked third in the world, we left ourselves with a hard task in the second half."

"It has to be done quicker because, at this top level, teams will punish you for not being at your most confident and absolute best.

"The second half, we regrouped, put them under a lot more pressure and stress."

Next up for Scotland is Japan in Rennes and then on to Paris to face Argentina - and, for Cuthbert, there was plenty from their opener to be optimistic about.

"We have to take the positives in terms of how we deal with our attacking play, how we deal with the build up," she added.

"And how we cope with pressure because there's going to be hard moments in these games. The VAR decision was one of them."