Renewed hope for 'dominant' Scots already eyeing World Cup
Twelve hours before kick-off in Tilburg, Scotland were on the tarmac at Edinburgh Airport.An already daunting trip over to face the Netherlands, ranked 10th in the world, was made even more challenging by disruptions to the team's travel.What should have been a Monday afternoon flight, soon turned to evening, and ultimately to Tuesday morning. However Melissa Andreatta thought her first away day with the Scots would go, this scenario would not have been in any script.Neither was Scotland leaving the Koning Willem Stadion with a spring in their step.They could not have come into their final Nations League Group A1 game with much lower expectations. Already relegated after six defeats on the spin amid a tricky transition - all before their plane problems - there was a worry the Dutch could hand out a serious scudding.But this is now Andreatta's Scotland. And the early signs are that means energy, edge and some long-awaited excitement.
'She has so much belief in us'
Despite their far from ideal preparations, there was no huffing and puffing from Andreatta and her players.If you rocked up to the stadium having not heard of their issues you would be forgiven for thinking everything was routinely done pre-match.There was no hint of using it as an excuse or branding it an exceptional circumstance, instead it was an opportunity to impress.And impress they did. For large parts on the Netherlands' home patch, the Scots were comfortable.Paramount to that was Rangers midfielder Kirsty MacLean, who was pulling the strings.For long enough, Scotland have sought after a deep-lying midfielder to complement the attacking capabilities of Erin Cuthbert and Caroline Weir. The 20-year-old they call 'Ini' - a nod to former Spain maestro Andres Iniesta - staked her claim for that role in Tilburg.Cuthbert and Weir looked more like the versions of themselves we see at club level, but what Scotland fans are often deprived of.Weir - who wore the captain's armband - could not hide her pride and pleasure at the performance."Going forward it's huge," the 29-year-old told BBC Scotland."It gives us confidence. We set a new baseline there, we need to run with it and push on. I'm really proud of not just the performance but how we approached the game."Mel has come in with so much energy, enthusiasm and she's so positive. She has so much belief in us and I think today showed that."
'All eyes on 2027 World Cup'
Andreatta's energy and enthusiasm was apparent on the touchline.Whether it was minute eight, 58 or 88, she was pacing up and down the touchline with her arms swinging in encouragement and legs kicking every ball.Twice during stoppages in play a giant tactics board came out to redirect the players, and the switch to a back three at half-time proved critical in turning the momentum in the match.There were heartening hollers, dramatic dashes when chances were created and applause for the application of her players throughout.It is apparent in these early days how invested the Australian is."The growth of this team with only five or six sessions, players finishing seasons, I'm excited now to take all this in," the head coach said after the draw. "I think we dominated the second half and were unlucky not to win.""We have a bit of a break and we'll start again in October and get a chance to look at players who aren't even here. This is a good way to finish this campaign."It's a campaign which had been bitterly disappointing up until the last game. When previewing the last dance in Tilburg, former Scotland international Leanne Crichton admitted it was a "bleak" campaign she was desperate to see the back of."We've gone from qualifying for two back-to-back major tournaments [Euro 2017 and 2019 World Cup] and we've fallen off the edge of a cliff because we've not capitalised on that," the ex-midfielder told BBC Radio Scotland."We find ourselves now in a huge transitional period."Scotland still have the disappointment of slouching on their sofas this summer instead of strutting their stuff in Switzerland at the Euros.And a run of eight games without a win does not exactly make for great reading.But if this performance does prove to be the "baseline and benchmark" it is cause for some renewed hope ahead of qualifying for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil next year."There's a long way to go but all eyes are on that World Cup," Real Madrid's Weir added. "There's a lot of football to be played but draws like tonight really help. It's a start."
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