Scotland Women's Football Team

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Vorskla Poltava stand between Celtic and reaching the Women's Champions League group stage for the first time, with the Ukrainian side hoping to make the same history themselves.

Natalya Zinchenko's side were seeded for the "champions path" section of Monday's draw courtesy of being 29th in Uefa's co-efficient table, 53 places above Celtic.

But it was one of the kindest draws the Scottish champions could have had, avoiding five teams ranked between 10 and 17 in Europe, with only the Netherlands' Twente ranked below their Ukrainian counterparts.

It should also be pointed out that Gintra, who Celtic beat 2-0 in Lithuania to qualify from their first-round group tournament, were themselves rated 36 spots ahead of the Glasgow side.

The higher ranking is largely because, while Celtic clinched their first national title last season, Vorskla Poltava have won theirs four more times since their first in 2016.

Not all those were under their current name as, until 2022, they were known as Zhytlobud-2 Kharkiv before changing title - and moving 89 miles south west to a different city further from the border with Russia.

They have played Scottish opposition once previously, under their previous name, drawing 1-1 with Hibernian in the 2017 Champions League league qualification group stage when the Edinburgh side finished second behind hosts Olimpia Cluj of Romania.

Indeed, under both guises, they have only progressed beyond the qualifying rounds once - before losing to Shymkent of Kazakhstan in the round of 32 three years ago.

Former Ukraine midfielder Zinchenko has been team boss since 2021, the 44-year-old having spent the previous three years as national head coach.

Eleven of her squad are part of Volodymyr Pyatenko's current Ukraine set-up, including 60-times capped attacking midfielder Yana Kalinina.

They currently lie second on goal difference behind Metalist 1925 Kharkiv after winning their opening four games of their new Premier League season.

Meanwhile, they set up their meeting with Celtic by easing aside Latvian side Riga 5-0 before beating mini qualifying tournament hosts Ferencvaros 2-0 in Hungary, with Ukraine defender Kateryna Korsun scoring twice in the semi-final and once in the final.

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Caroline Weir scored twice on her return for Real Madrid in their 5-0 victory over Espanyol.

The midfielder also grabbed an assist on her first start since rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament.

The Scotland international has been sidelined for almost a year with the injury picked up in the nations league match against Belgium back in September 2023.

She returned to competitive action for club Real and scored two goals in the space of 20 minutes to help the Spanish giants to a huge victory.

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"Fantastic leader" Rachael Boyle has been named the new captain of Hibernian, following the retirement of Joelle Murray.

Boyle, who joined from Aberdeen in 2016, has played at integral part in the club's domestic cup success, despite her spell in the capital being disturbed by injury.

But Boyle continually bounced back, and did so from her pregnancy, too.

Such qualities made it a "very natural decision," according to manager Grant Scott.

“I’ve worked with Rachael before, she is a fantastic leader and I think her status as the player she was before injury and pregnancy, she has the respect of the group," said Scott.

"It was a very natural decision for us to give that honour to Rachael."

On her appointment, the Scotland international added, “It’s a huge honour, especially following after the legend that is Joelle. It’s going to be a hard role to fill with her going into the coaching staff, but it’s a role that I feel I’m ready to step up and take on.

"I want to be that figure that the girls can turn to if they have any problems but also be that leader on and off the pitch that they can follow.

"I like to think whether I’m named captain or not I’m still a leader and we’ve got a number of leaders in the squad too that makes my role that bit easier.”

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"It’s new, but it doesn’t feel different."

Former Glasgow City manager Scott Booth has returned to the club as first team assistant coach to his former captain, Leanne Ross.

Booth first joined the club in 2015 and led the side to six consecutive SWPL titles during their 15-year dominance.

Since departing Petershill Park, the former Scotland international coached in the Women’s Super League with Birmingham City and in the Championship with Lewes.

On his return to a, "club that I have always loved," Booth said, “football’s got a funny way of doing something that you don’t really expect".

“The opportunity to come back home, to be closer to my family and be part of a club that I have always loved is something I am grateful for as you don’t always get that opportunity to return to a place where you have had so many amazing memories.”

Most of those memories were shared with Ross, who he added he has, "always got on [with], had honesty within [the] relationship and trust her experience and knowledge".

Ross too expressed her excitement at working with her former manager again.

“We know each other really well," the SWNT assistant coach said.

"We have respect for one another and I feel he is somebody that will come in and not just challenge me but also support me in making the decisions needed as we look to compete for trophies over the course of the season.”

“He is somebody that has immense experience in the women’s game and, importantly, he is also somebody who knows this club really well and I’m excited to be working with him again.”

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Scotland international Christy Grimshaw has been handed the AC Milan captain's for the upcoming campaign.

The midfielder joined the Italian side in 2020 and has since gone on to make 99 appearances, the most by a foreign player for the club's women's side, while scoring 14 goals.

The 28-year-old recently extended her stay in Milan until 2027.

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

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So, Scotland now know who stands between them and a place at next summer's European Championships in Switzerland.

After sailing through their Group B2 qualifying campaign, the Scots knew they would be seeded for Round One of the play-offs taking place later this year.

Earlier on today they were drawn against Hungary - an appealing draw for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, the travel, and therefore recovery. Due to the tight turnaround in fixtures - the first leg is on Friday, with the second leg on Tuesday - Pedro Martinez Losa and his side will be delighted to avoid a trek to Azerbaijan or Turkey.

A shorter trip to Hungary, one they took just last month when they played Israel, will allow for a recovery day on Saturday, before attention turns to the home tie at Hampden.

Secondly, the Scots have a decent record against Hungary in recent times.

Three years ago they were in the same qualification group for the 2023 World Cup, and Scotland twice came out on top.

Add in that Hungary finished third in Group B1 with two wins, one draw and three defeats, there will be plenty of optimism among the Scotland ranks they can negotiate their way into Round Two.

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From excitement to revenge.

Should Scotland get by Hungary, they'll then face either Montenegro or Finland, and if it's the latter, there would no need to get the girls hyped up for it.

Finland, managed then by former Scotland head coach Anna Signeul, ended the Scots' hopes of reaching Euro 2022 with a 1-0 win at Easter Road back in 2020.

Since then, they've faced each other twice.

Last summer, Scotland won a friendly 2-1; Caroline Weir marked her 100th cap with a goal and Emma Watson netted her third international goal in four games. Both are still out with ACL injuries, but they will be pushing to make the play-offs.

The Finns also pipped Scotland on penalties to edge this year's Pinatar Cup, but the Scots have improved drastically since then.

Clean sheets are being kept, goals are being scored and smiles are back on faces.

There will no doubt be a few grins looking at these games, knowing Scotland have a serious chance of dining once again at Europe's top table.

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Captain Rachel Corsie is delighted that Scotland have restored "pride" with a storming run to the Euro 2025 play-offs.

The Scots secured promotion to Nations League A and will be seeded in Friday's Euros play-off draw after finishing top of their qualifying group.

They won five out of six qualifiers, the only dropped points coming in a draw away to Serbia.

"I can't remember the last time we had five wins in a row and went six games unbeaten," Corsie told the BBC's Behind the Goals podcast.

"It's what we wanted to do but it's not easy in international football and it's a long time since we've had these feelings.

"I think the team has stepped up. To finish the group in a really confident manner with two good results and two good performances, it was an enjoyable experience.

"The Nations League was difficult but defensively we exposed ourselves too often. "e wanted to try and put a little bit of focus on that and take a bit of pride back and I think we did that."

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Erin Cuthbert says now is the time for Scotland to "step up" after winning promotion back to Nations League A and earning seeded status for Friday's Euro 2025 play-off draw.

Pedro Martinez Losa's side finished top of their Euro 2025 qualifying group after Kirsty Hanson's goal secured a 1-0 win over Serbia on Tuesday night.

The victory means the Scots are back in Nations League A having been demoted to League B last time out after failing to win any of their six games.

"From here on in it gets harder," Chelsea forward Cuthbert said.

"The opposition gets harder, the pressure gets harder. Now it’s time for us all to step up and it’s about how we handle pressure.

"There’s going to be moments where we need to sit in and defend for our lives and there’s going to be moments where we have to be really clinical because we may not get as many chances as we’ve had in this campaign.

"We’re going to have to be a really ruthless Scotland and front-footed as well. We do best when we high press teams.

"We don’t do well defending our own goal, we don’t have a team that wants to sit in and defend, we have front-footed players so whoever we play we need to impose our game on them."

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland at Firhill Stadium

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Job done. Every job done.

Play-offs secured, undefeated campaign and promotion to League A confirmed.

Not without another challenge at Firhill with Serbia, as expected, getting up into Scotland's face but as the players and staff have said post-match, it's the sort of attitude they'll come against later in the year.

Martinez Losa's side had to dig deep and defend more than they have done in the four games against Slovakia and Israel respectively, and did so fairly soundly.

There was the odd scary moment, but given the time of season for the bulk of these players, a little slowness can be expected.

There was no such trait in the celebrations after the final whistle, though, which shows how morale-boosting this unbeaten campaign has been.

This squad are in a far better place than they were at the beginning of the year, on and off the pitch.

The mood is different, the togetherness is even more evident and the confidence is brimming.

Six games, five wins, one goal conceded. Bring on the play-offs.

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Scotland head coach Pedro Martinez Losa: "We have a run that not many teams have in Europe at the moment.

"We want to encourage the fans to connect with the team. It has been a long time for us to sing with the fans.

"It was about fighting for the future of the women’s game. More than the outcome of this group, it is about the ultimate ambition is to make fans identify with this team."

And the Scotland manager also believes his side are better placed now to cope with the play-offs than they were two years ago when they headed into the World Cup play-offs, a run that ended with defeat to the Republic of Ireland at Hampden.

"100% [we are in a better place]," he said. "100%. The mentality is different. We know there are areas we need to improve to reach the next level.

"What we expect now is the draw. We celebrate now and then we will prepare for the first play-off. We have to keep the feelings on the floor. It is a good moment for the players to feel proud.

"The last three or four games we have shown we are at a good level. We believe we can beat everyone at this moment.

"We knew how difficult it was going to be and Serbia were the hardest opponents in League B and they proved that.

"The game was much more tactical than anything. We felt it was our opportunity after a run of good results and our objective was to take the group to the next level.

“I am so pleased for the group. They give everything in every game and every camp."

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Reaching 50 caps for Scotland is one of Kirsty Smith’s biggest achievements in football, the 30-year-old has revealed.

West Ham defender Smith could win cap number 55 should she feature on Tuesday against Serbia, the team she reached the half century of international appearances against in April.

The former Hibernian and Manchester United defender made her Scotland debut back in October 2014.

"It was a really big achievement for me personally,” she said. "It’s taken me a while.

"It’s something that growing up you would never have thought would happen, so to actually reach 50 was probably one of my biggest achievements, and I am very proud of that."

Reaching 50 caps for Scotland is one of Kirsty Smith’s biggest achievements in football, the 30-year-old has revealed.

West Ham defender Smith could win cap number 55 should she feature against Serbia, the team she reached the half century of international appearances against in April.

The former Hibernian and Manchester United defender made her debut back in October 2014.

“I think it was a really big achievement for me personally. It’s taken me a while,” she said.

“It’s something that growing up you would never have thought would happen, so to actually reach 50 was probably one of my biggest achievements, and I am very proud of that.”

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Pedro Martinez Losa says the decision to play Scotland’s final Euro 2025 qualifying group B2 game with Serbia at Firhill will help the team “connect with the fans”.

Scotland have played all their recent home qualifiers at the 52,000-seater Hampden Park, though the crowd was just 3,127 against Slovakia in April while June’s win over Israel was played behind closed doors.

The Spaniard hopes Firhill’s smaller capacity can help harness a better atmosphere as his side bid to stay top of the group.

“That was one of the reasons for moving away from Hampden, was to connect with the community, to give all the Scotland fans an opportunity to connect with the team,” he said.

“So I think we’re going to have that part on our side tomorrow and give us the last push, especially in July when the energy levels are not that big.

“I think the behaviour of the players the other day in terms of mental resilience and commitment was very big, and it will be the same tomorrow.

“You want to feel the energy of the fans and when it’s a smaller stadium it’s more full, then you can feel that. We don’t say enough how important that support is for us. We have all seen moments in the men’s Euros where everything is decided in key moments when the players are at the limit. And in that one minute, one substitution can make an impact, that one player can make an impact, but also the fans can make an impact.

“Hopefully we can inspire everybody to follow us, not just in a major tournament but in the future games.”

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Pedro Martinez Losa says the decision to play Scotland’s final Group B2 game with Serbia at Firhill will help the team “connect with the fans”.

Scotland have played all their recent home qualifiers at the 52,000 capacity Hampden Park, though the crowd was just 3,127 against Slovakia in April while June’s win over Israel was played behind closed doors.

The Spaniard hopes Firhill’s smaller capacity can help harness a better atmosphere as his side bid to stay top of the group.

“That was one of the reasons for moving away from Hampden, was to connect with the community, to give all the Scotland fans an opportunity to connect with the team,” he said.

“So I think we’re going to have that part on our side tomorrow and give us the last push, especially in July when the energy levels are not that big.

“I think the behaviour of the players the other day in terms of mental resilience and commitment was very big, and it will be the same tomorrow.

“You want to feel the energy of the fans and when it’s a smaller stadium it’s more full, then you can feel that. We don’t say enough how important that support is for us.

"We have all seen moments in the men’s Euros where everything is decided in key moments when the players are at the limit. And in that one minute, one substitution can make an impact, that one player can make an impact, but also the fans can make an impact.

“Hopefully we can inspire everybody to follow us, not just in a major tournament but in the future games.”

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Kirsty Howat was "over the moon" to make her long-awaited Scotland debut on Friday night.

The 27-year-old has made numerous appearances for the Scots at youth level but her substitute appearance in the 2-0 win over Slovakia was her first for the senior side.

"I'm over the moon," the forward said.

"I've dreamt of that moment since I was a wee girl so for it to finally happen, I'm absolutely delighted.

"I will remember this day for a long time, I'm lost for words a little bit. I'm absolutely buzzing."

It was a tough night for Pedro Martinez Losa's side who had to contend with a 40-minute delay after a storm hit the Nitra Stadium in the second half.

"It was pretty extreme, we couldn't even see the girls on the pitch," Howat added.

"We stayed professional, kept warm and got a good warm-up in and got the job done in the end.

"We didn't really know much about what was going on but we just kept warm as if the game was going to happen again.

"It was all we really could do. It didn't really phase us, we were just expecting to come back out and play."