Scotland Women's Football Team

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Rangers winger Mia McAulay has bagged her first senior Scotland call-up and could make her full international debut against Slovakia on Friday.

The 17-year-old replaces Jane Ross in Pedro Martinez Losa's squad for their Euro 2025 qualifiers against Slovakia and Serbia.

McAulay, who was a standout performer in Rangers' cup double-winning side last season, has featured heavily for Scotland at youth level.

"I am delighted to have been selected for Scotland senior for the first time - it is a proud moment for me and my family," the teenager told club media.

"It has always been a dream of mine to play for my country at this level and I hope to get the chance to show people what I can do in these matches."

Manager Jo Potter added: "I am extremely delighted that Mia has been called up to the Scotland A squad.

"It is more than deserved and a just-reward for all her hard work throughout the last campaign and start of pre-season, her development as well as willingness to learn has been fantastic.

"It has been a long time coming and I am excited to see her continue to progress and I am sure this experience will only benefit her moving forward."

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Lisa Evans says Scotland are desperate for another taste of an international tournament.

The Scotland winger made the trip over to Germany to join the Tartan Army for the Euro 2024 opener and says the experience strengthened her resolve to reach a major tournament herself.

Pedro Martinez Losa's side face Slovakia and Serbia in their final Euros qualifiers for next year's tournament in Switzerland.

"A few of us were over in Germany and it was unbelievable." Evans said.

"Just being part of the Tartan Army and seeing things from that perspective, it makes you so proud to be Scottish.

"The boys gave everything they could but I think it gives you more motivation to be at a major tournament.

"We've come close ourselves, we've had a taste of playing at a Euros and a World Cup and it's something that we want to do more than anything so I think that's our main focus."

Skipper Rachel Corsie says Scotland must "leverage" home advantage for their final Euro 2025 qualifier against Serbia.

The Scots are currently top of their group, joint on points with Serbia, who they face at Firhill Stadium next Tuesday.

First up in the closing double-header is a trip to take on Slovakia on Friday.

"It is an awkward time because most of us are in off-season or the early stages of pre-season," Aston Villa defender Corsie told the BBC's Behind the Goals podcast.

"I can't really remember this being a window that's been used in the past.

"Everyone's in a similar boat. It's awkward, the preparations aren't ideal because a lot of us aren't in a weekly schedule that builds to a game at the weekend.

"I've not had too much downtime. I've not actually had loads of time off because of the last international window in June.

"It's exciting because it's the last two games of the group. We've come in at the pole position.

"We'll be looking to finish top of the group, having home advantage for the last game we'll need to leverage in our favour."

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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Scotland boss Pedro Martinez Losa says his side feel like they can compete against anyone after a strong start to their Euro qualifiers.

The Scots are top of their group after wins against Israel and Slovakia and are guaranteed a spot in the play-offs.

"There’s an aspect of feeling closer and the chance to get better and better," the Spaniard said.

"It’s a challenging time, there’s the risk of injury but also the players are starting to feel what they are achieving.

"As a football player you realise that you previously would not think you could compete against teams like Austria and Belgium or others who were ahead of us in the FIFA ranking.

"Now every time we face these opponents, we have the feeling we can compete and be a better team on the day."

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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Pedro Martinez Losa has been speaking to the media after confirming his Scotland squad for their upcoming Euro qualifiers.

Here are the key points from his press conference:

• Says the Scotland players feel "proud" to be part of this national team and did not want the last camp to end.

• Although his side are guaranteed a spot in the play-offs, Martinez Losa insists the job "isn't finished yet" and they are targeting a positive end to the qualifying campaign.

• The women's manager was full of praise for the travelling Tartan Army support in Germany, calling Scotland fans "the best in the world". He is hopeful of doing them proud if they qualify for the tournament in Switzerland next summer.

• Martinez Losa also shared his support for men's boss Steve Clarke and his players after a frustrating Euros campaign, but says it's not his place to comment on the suitability of his counterpart.

• The Spanish manager says it's his side's job to bring "joy" back to Scotland after a disappointing end to the men's campaign.

• Martinez Losa spoke about captain Rachel Corsie and how well her television punditry has been received recently, but says she is now fully focused on captaining the national team.

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Martha Thomas' return has brought confidence back to Pedro Martinez Losa's Scotland squad, says Leanne Crichton.

After missing Scotland's opening two Euro 2025 qualifiers - the goalless draw in Serbia and 1-0 home win over Slovakia - through injury the Tottenham striker has returned in style by scoring five in back-to-back wins over Israel.

Four of those goals came in Tuesday's 5-0 thumping in Budapest and the 28-year-old's tally stands at eight goals in her last four Scotland matches.

Speaking on the BBC's Behind the Goals podcast, former Scotland midfielder Crichton said: "That first international hat-trick is quite significant.

"You don't score many international hat-tricks when you're a Scotland player, especially now, and it's only going to get tougher.

"We've seen the groups Scotland have been drawn in in qualifying phases. In international tournaments it's unlikely you're going to get those chances.

"I just think the confidence overall has improved with having Martha back in the squad, she's a player who thrives on goalscoring."

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Leah Eddie has relished the learning experience of being part of the Scotland squad over the past week.

The defender, who recently joined Rangers from Hibs, captained the Under-23s in their narrow defeat to Denmark before taking Sarah Ewens' place in the senior squad where she was on the bench for the double-header with Israel.

"I've got a completely different role here than I do with the Under-23s," Eddie told the Scottish FA.

"It's good to be in the leadership group when I'm away with the Under-23s but then come in and get some valuable time with the older players and see how they do things a wee bit differently from the under-23s.

"Even just training alongside the girls, the likes of Rachel Corsie and stuff who are playing at different clubs and even down south, I can learn a lot from it and take that back to the Under-23s as well."

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Scotland "needed" the outstanding performance they delivered against Israel on Tuesday and are heading into the summer on a high, says captain Rachel Corsie.

Four-goal Martha Thomas inspired the Scots to a 5-0 trouncing of Israel in Budapest four days after Pedro Martinez Losa's side tailed off in the second half of a 4-1 win over the same opposition.

With two Euro 2025 qualifiers remaining, Scotland top the group and their only dropped points came in a goalless draw at second-place Serbia.

On the 5-0 win over Israel, Corsie told the BBC's Behind the Goals podcast: "I think the biggest message was to try and create clear opportunities.

"Not to force it but give players like Martha Thomas, Kirsty Hanson and Claire Emslie good opportunities.

"You don't want the pressure to be that you need to score a worldie, it's just nice if you can give them an opportunity when you know the odds are they're going to put it away.

"We felt we needed a performance like the one on Tuesday night. It was a really good feeling.

"It was good to see that rhythm, the result, score some good goals and see different people contributing.

"It's been a nice way to go into the summer break. There's still two games to come in July but we've put ourselves in as good a position as we can going into that camp."

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Former Scotland defender Joelle Murray says back-to-back wins over Israel have given Pedro Martinez Losa's side a "big lift".

The Scots followed up their 4-1 home win with a 5-0 victory over the Israelis in Budapest, Hungary, to ensure a play-off spot and stay top of the group, above Serbia on goal difference.

"I think it'll give the girls, the squad, a big, big lift," recently-retired former Hibs captain Murray told the BBC's Scottish Football podcast.

"There was lots of non-football chat prior to both games and the girls showed their professionalism.

"They showed that they can fully focus on the task in hand. And they've done that in emphatic performances, both at Hampden and in Hungary.

"I think these last two games really showed that cohesive performance that we've all been waiting for.

"We know individually there's quality in those players but up until the last two games we've not really seen that kind of cohesion and link-up play."

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Four goals from Martha Thomas drove unbeaten Scotland to a comprehensive victory against Israel that extended their lead at the top of Group B2 in Euro 2025 qualifying.

The Tottenham striker scored two either side of half-time in Scotland's second meeting with Israel in four days behind closed doors.

Thomas slotted the opener in Budapest, Hungary, after another impressive start from Pedro Martinez Losa's side before heading in a second on the end of an outstanding team move.

Her team-mates could have chipped in with a few in between but the striker settled any nerves with a third following good movement and added a fourth with her head.

Once the 28-year-old was substituted, Chelsea Cornet took the reins and emphatically netted her first international goal with a smashed effort late on.

Read the full report here

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Scotland boss Pedro Martinez Losa was delighted with Scotland's performance in their 5-0 victory over Israel.

It was a slow start for the Scots in Budapest but they powered to victory with Martha Thomas scoring four before Chelsea Cornet opened her international account late on.

"We are very happy with the performance and very proud of the team," Martinez Losa said.

"It was a proper team performance with some circumstances to deal with throughout the game but that's what a team is there for.

"The players have shown this level in training and they had the opportunity to show what this team is about and show what they want to be.

"We are more proactive in the final third and Martha is a player who can be very effective from crosses and that's something we managed to do.

"The opponent started with energy and tried to do something different to get something from the game, but we very quickly sped up the tempo of the game we corrected some areas that we struggled in a little bit in the last match and it was an excellent performance.

"The team have been working so hard and I'm so pleased they got the result today because they want to do the nation proud.

"It was very important for us not to concede any goals, be solid defensively and I think we showed that today.

"We were all very disappointed with the goal we conceded at Hampden on Friday but that shows the high standards we have so we were just pleased that today we were capable to keep the ball out of the net."

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

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The double-header against Israel sandwiched in the middle of the fixture list was always viewed as a must-win pair of games, with the hope of a good few goals too.

Scotland completed the task at hand with relative ease, barring a few scares on Friday which were handled well by Lee Gibson in goal.

Martinez Losa’s side looked back to their old selves. The confidence was no doubt knocked by the poor Nations League campaign and the Pinatar Cup was not as successful on the pitch as some would have hoped.

However, going undefeated in the first four Group B2 games has allowed the Scots to smile again and play some lovely stuff, despite missing key operators.

Across both games, the front three of Hanson, Thomas and Emslie have particularly impressed, and their link-up play has been joyous. They seem settled and connected, which will be key if next summer’s Euros are eventually reached.

With Erin Cuthbert rested, captain Corsie shifted into the midfield and made the position look her own. Her natural instinct to sit deep allowed Sam Kerr to roam forward and influence the top end of the pitch alongside Cornet.