Scotland 0-6 England: Can Pedro Martinez Losa lead national team to a major tournament?
- Published
Highlights: England put six past Scotland
With Nations League relegation already confirmed, Scotland only had pride to play for against England. Even that was in tatters by half-time.
Toothless Scotland succumbed to an embarrassing 6-0 home defeat. But head coach Pedro Martinez Losa still believes this group, under his stewardship, can make a major tournament again.
Where he saw evidence of that amid this Hampden humbling is unclear. His tactics were exposed, his gameplan overturned and his players overawed.
Scotland were simply outclassed by their neighbours, something which hasn't been the case too often in this campaign, despite the disappointing results.
Before a ball was even kicked in the competition, the Spaniard was rewarded with a contract extension with the vision of guiding the Scots back to the top table. The Nations League was his first chance of doing that.
Six games later, it seems Scotland are considerably further away from that goal.
And it appeared on Tuesday that Martinez Losa himself was some way away from knowing where to take this team next.
By half-time it was 4-0. Scotland didn't know what day of the week it was at times. Post-match, the head coach admitted he considered ripping up the blueprint and calling on the cavalry before the break.
But due to "having too much respect" for the players, he opted against it and stuck to his guns.
There is no place for sentiment in international football, though. Ruthless decisions must be made and Martinez Losa shrunk at the thought.
That surprised many, including Scotland legend Julie Fleeting.
"I was a bit confused by [Martinez Losa taking responsibility then backing the gameplan]," the former striker said on Sportsound. "The damage had been done and was nothing to do with how he set his team out? I don't believe that."
'We fell far too short in too many ways'
While he did not apologise for the attacking threat, or lack of it, the head coach did apologise to the fans, who expected so much more from a meeting with the nation's fiercest rivals, particularly given the backdrop to the game.
In the build up, Rachel Corsie was irked by questions about Scotland's integrity. She highlighted the desire to put on a performance that justified the large backing from the stands.
The captain got them believing in the cause, and believing in this team despite a dire run of results. Calling out the disrespect of her team-mates rallied the Scottish support.
Yet by the 38th minute, when Lauren James netted her first of the night and England's second, heads around Hampden were shaking in disappointment and disgust.
Scotland were supposed to have moved on from these moments. The days of showing no fight, no hunger, no quality were supposed to be in the rear-view mirror. All that made an unwelcome return on Tuesday.
"We fell far too short in too many ways," the downbeat captain said. "It is a night where we think we have let ourselves down in a number of areas.
"Everyone wants to fix it together and that is going to be important. You have to look at yourself first. We will get a chance to address things together.
"It is important we use the chance to reflect and we are encouraging each other to compete because I don't think we did that and that is always going to be unacceptable."
Scotland 'need to get results' after gruelling campaign
Martinez Losa also steered clear of any suggestion that he cannot pick this group back up and lead them to the Euros in 2025, reiterating it is the intention of himself, the players, and the Scottish FA to do just that.
"Taking the team to a major tournament is not based on beating England or not, so the question about being in a major tournament is not about this game. It is about if we can qualify from the group we find out in April," he said.
Few are in doubt that when Scotland have their big-hitters thriving they are a force to be reckoned with, but it has been all too long since that was the case.
Players of Caroline Weir's ilk are always going to be missed, but Chelsea's Erin Cuthbert and Bayern Munich's Sam Kerr were still huffing and puffing in the baltic Hampden breeze.
Barring a few frustrated tackles, merely just to get a sniff of the action, the pair were ineffective.
And even when Real Madrid's Weir has been called upon previously, the cries of criticism of how she is being deployed are loud.
The ingredients are there, with a fine balance of youth and experience and a healthy spread of talent, but whether there is the chef to concoct a masterpiece remains to be seen.
Tough lessons have been endured, but at this squad's stage, should they still be suffered?
More questions to add to the pile that has been growing in size since Martinez Losa was given a lengthy extension in September.As Scotland reflect on the Auld Enemy running roughshod in their own backyard, the answers have never seemed so far away.