Scotland Women's Football Team

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A protester has chained himself to the goalposts at Scotland’s Women's Euro 2025 qualifier against Israel at Glasgow's Hampden Park.

The match has been delayed after the man used a heavy duty lock to secure himself to the posts in protest at Israel's military operation in Gaza.

The Israeli team was then led off the pitch.

The match is being played behind closed doors for security reasons, but some reports said the demonstrator may have been mistaken for a steward as he had been wearing a high-vis vest.

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Former Scotland international Suzanne Lappin says Scotland's meeting with Israel being stages behind closed doors could be damaging to the growth of women's football in the country.

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Former Scotland defender Joelle Murray believes national team boss Pedro Martinez Losa should have squashed rumours of his departure if there was no credence to them.

The Spaniard dismissed news reports suggesting he is in the frame for the vacant Lyon job as "speculation", adding "now is not the moment to speak about anything other than Scotland and the importance of the game tomorrow."

He also said he had been "clear" with the group ahead of their Euro 2025 double header with Israel.

But Murray, who has 48 caps for her country, cast doubt on his response on BBC Radio Scotland.

"For me, that is always going to be the party line reply in situations like this," she said.

"If there was nothing in the rumours, I think the best thing to do - and the thing the [Scottish Football] Association would have advised him to do - was come out and absolutely squash those rumours.

"The way he's communicated it, he uses "clear", but for me there's absolutely no clarity in that reply. We could potentially be hearing more to come.

"If I was Pedro Martinez Losa, and there was nothing in it and I was completely committed to the national team, I would certainly absolutely squash those rumours."

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Scotland defender Sophie Howard says she is playing some of the best football of her career having come up with key moments for the national side.

The centre-back scored the winner at Hampden against Slovakia to kickstart this Euro 2025 qualifying campaign, having also grabbed a late leveller against Belgium in the Nations League.

Howard will be expected to line up alongside captain Rachel Corsie against Israel on Friday at Hampden as Scotland aim to take control of Group B2.

"I'm enjoying my football and that's why I'm producing those levels," she said. "This group brings the best out of one another.

"It's working for me - but the whole team too. Four points from the first two games is a strong start. It's the quality of the group is what allows me to perform."

Scotland are yet to concede after games against Serbia and Slovakia, but have only managed that single Howard goal so far.

The Leicester City defender says finding the back of the net has been "a big focus" in training, but not just for the forward players.

"We always say defending starts from the front line and scoring goals starts with us defenders.

"We're looking to score more goals but that means we need to allow the strikers to get better chance.

"So it's a collective effort to go out and score more goals than we have."

Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Scotland head coach Pedro Martinez Losa has been speaking to the media before Friday's Euro 2025 qualifier against Israel at Hampden.

Here are the key points:

• Preparations have been "very good" over in Spain and Scotland are "really motivated" to go and take on Israel at Hampden.

• The whole squad is fit and ready for the game.

• The fact it is behind closed doors is done "with the best interests of everyone" in mind by organisers with protests expected.

• Scotland are keeping "maximum focus" on the game and Martinez Losa had a chat with the "leadership group" about the situation, but everyone is focused on playing.

• The Scotland boss confirmed he addressed the squad after speculation linking him to the Lyon job, and reiterated he was "totally committed" to Scotland.

Alasdair Lamont
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

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Israel should not prove overly troublesome opponents for Scotland in Friday's Euro 2025 qualifier at Hampden.

The Israelis have lost both of their opening games in the group - 2-0 away to Slovakia and 4-2 at “home” in Hungary against Serbia.

They earned a place in this group as a result of an impressive Nations League campaign, though, dropping just two points to earn promotion from League C against Estonia, Kazakhstan and Armenia.

In a significant blow to their hopes of pulling off a shock, they have lost Sharon Beck to injury. The 29-year-old scored nine goals in four games in that Nations League campaign but will miss both games against the Scots, while veteran Karin Sendel has retired from the national team.

Many of the current squad play in the Israeli league, including former Glasgow City player Vital Kats, who is one of a number to represent the domestic champions Kiryat Gat.

A handful of the squad ply their trade abroad, from the USA to Spain, Turkey and Germany, where both Noa Selimhodzic and Maria Almasri helped Turbine Potsdam win the Bundesliga 2 this season.

Scotland goalkeeper Lee Gibson talks to the media about manager Pedro Martinez Losa's future

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Rangers defender Rachel McLauchlan has dropped out of the Scotland squad for the upcoming double header against Israel and been replaced by club team-mate Kirsty Maclean.

The 26-year-old scored a sensational opening goal at Hampden Park on Sunday as Jo Potter's side lifted the Scottish Cup in a fraught contest with Hearts.

Following the cup final, McLauchlan spoke excitedly about joining up with Pedro Martinez Losa's squad for their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign.

But 19-year-old Maclean, who has six international caps, has been drafted in place of her fellow Rangers regular.

Her last appearance for the national team came in December last year as Scotland were relegated to Women's Nations League B following a 1-1 draw in Belgium.

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Hearts head coach Eva Olid has outlined her ambitions to abolish the "boring" talk of "the top three" in Scottish women's football.

The Spaniard's side have taken points off Celtic, Rangers and Glasgow City this season, including a win against the Ibrox outfit, on their way to securing back-to-back fourth place finishes.

And while Olid - whose team are the underdogs in Sunday's Scottish Cup final against Rangers - is aware progress must be made "little by little", she has set her sights high on ruffling feathers at the top table.

"We want to win more consistently against them," she said. "We celebrated big the win against Rangers but we want that to be normal, we want to do it more often.

“We want to stop talking about the top three, that’s the objective. It’s so boring. ‘Top three, top three, top three’, we want to stop that.”

Should they stun Rangers at Hampden, Olid believes it could be a catalyst to signing players of the calibre she needs to mix it among the three Glasgow clubs constantly.

“It’s important professional players trust us to come here as a project to keep growing," Olid added.

“A win would give us more opportunities, we could attract more top players that we need to compete against the big teams. It would just bring such confidence and belief… all positives.

“We have to believe we can beat them, because if not, what is the point? But at the same time, we have to enjoy, we don’t have any pressure."

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

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"She's close".

That was Pedro Martinez Losa's response when asked about Amy Gallacher's absence from his recent Scotland squad.

The Celtic forward has not been selected for the upcoming matches against Israel in the Scots' Euro 2025 qualifying campaign.

That's despite amassing 47 goal contributions, making both the PFA Scotland SWPL team of the year and player of the year shortlist, and scooping Celtic's player's player of the year award.

How much more does one need to do?

It's been a special season for the 25-year-old. She has spearheaded Celtic's charge towards their first league title, which they remain in pole position to grasp this coming Sunday.

Her impressive performances on the domestic scene were rewarded with a Scotland debut back in September, and she was part of the last camp, although unused against both Serbia and Slovakia.

Martinez Losa noted on Wednesday she was "part of the group of players considered". The Spaniard added, "she is a talented player who can bring a lot to the team," and on that front, there can be no doubts. Her numbers do the talking.

Which is why her exclusion from the squad, at this stage of her superb season, is a bit of an eyebrow-raiser.

If Celtic get the job done and wrap up their maiden SWPL title, Gallacher's name will surely be in the spotlight again.

Not for her omission though, rather her outstanding contribution to their success.

Scotland head coach Pedro Martinez Losa says his personal view on playing Israel "doesn't matter" after naming his latest squad.

Adam Binnie
BBC Sport Scotland at Hampden

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Pedro Martinez Losa believes the scheduling of matches is unsustainable and a "big aspect" in the high number of ACL injuries experienced in the women's game.

The Scotland head coach was speaking of the hectic schedule his players face as he named his squad for the upcoming Euro 2025 qualifying double-header against Israel.

The squad is without five players - Sandy MacIver, Fiona Brown, Christy Grimshaw, Caroline Weir and Emma Watson - sidelined with ACL injuries, which the Spaniard linked with the lack of recovery cycles for players in between games.

"It’s a concern in terms of the multifactorial aspect that causes this type of injury," he said.

"In my opinion, scheduling is very important. We need cycles of five or six days in between the games when the players come to international camps and then go back to clubs.

“We have evidence in our data that says that a lot of players in our squad find that international games are three times more demanding in terms of the physical demands, the distance they cover and the levels of stress, as is when you represent your country.

“We come back to science, football requires a minimum of five or six days to be totally recovered to give the athletes time to recover their body, to complete the refuel of the body and to give them time to work hard again on their athletic development.

“Sadly, when you go back to the calendar, these cycles don’t have very often, and players have to play three games in one week.

“It is multifactorial, but one of the biggest aspects that we can modify and control is the scheduling and the amount of games.”

Adam Binnie
BBC Sport Scotland at Hampden

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Scotland head coach Pedro Martinez Losa named his squad for the upcoming Euro 2025 qualifiers against Israel and addressed the media.

Here are the key points from his press conference:

• He's "really excited" to welcome back forwards Kirsty Hanson and Martha Thomas after the pair missed the opening two group games through injury.

• With five players (MacIver, Brown, Grimshaw, Weir and Watson) out with ACL injuries, Martinez Losa said the frequent issue of ACL injuries in the women's game is "multifactorial" but a "big aspect" is the scheduling of games.

• Martinez Losa says that international matches are three times more demanding than domestic fixtures and that the football calendar needs to be addressed to protect the players.

• The head coach says Scotland have been "put in a position by Uefa" to play against Israel and "whether I feel comfortable playing against them or not doesn't matter, it is my duty to lead Scotland".

• It is the Spaniard's "dream to see a full crowd at Hampden for a SWNT match because Scottish fans are the best in the world".

Israel's women's team should be banned from taking part in the women's Euro 2025 qualifiers ahead of their match against Scotland, a Greens councillor has said. (The National), external

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