Scotland: World Cup absence 'still raw' but friendlies chance to prove worth - Lee Gibson
- Published
Real Madrid midfielder Caroline Weir is Scotland's star player
Lee Gibson says Scotland's failure to reach this year's Women's World Cup finals "still feels pretty raw" but they will use forthcoming friendlies to prove they are a top-tier team.
Scotland host Northern Ireland at Dens Park, Dundee, on Friday before visiting Finland next Tuesday.
They are warm-up games ahead of competing in the top division of the new Nations League.
"We feel we deserve to be in that Pot A," goalkeeper Gibson said.
"And we are going to prove that in the coming games."
Scotland missed out on this year's World Cup finals in Australia and New Zealand after a surprise play-off defeat at home to Republic of Ireland in October.
But Gibson hopes her national team can cash in on the increasing interest in women's football when they play at Dens Park for the first time.
"I know that we're not there, but we want to make sure that, starting on Friday, we can get a good crowd and get the good feeling back again, because I think the last couple of performances have been good - two wins, two clean sheets, lots of fresh faces, new scorers things like that," she said.
"It's a good time to build momentum. It's nice to go somewhere else and it's maybe better for fans who are staying a little further afield - it's less travel for them."
Sam Kerr has just been transferred from Rangers to Bayern Munich, while fellow Scotland midfielder Caroline Weir has signed a new deal with Real Madrid.
"We've got players playing at top, top clubs across Europe and I think that can only be beneficial for the national team," Gibson said. "You look at Sam getting her move to Bayern - it's amazing and we want to keep seeing that.
"You look at what Caroline is doing over at Real - she's world class. Us as a team, we've evolved over the years and we need to use the disappointment of not getting to this World Cup and use it as a fresh start, starting with these friendlies, the Nations League and then the European qualifiers that follow."
Scotland last played Northern Ireland in June 2021, when Gibson's side won 1-0 in a Belfast friendly - six months after losing 1-0 at home to the Finns in a crucial Euro 2022 qualifier.
"They'll both be tough games," the goalkeeper added. "With Northern Ireland being a home nation, there's always that bit of rivalry there and Finland were obviously the team that went to the Euros - we had two really difficult games against them - but I think we're in a far better place now as a squad."