Belgium v Scotland
UEFA Nations League: Group A1
Friday, 1 December, kick off 7:30pm (UK time) 
Den Dreef Stadium, Leuven

Scotland are back in action on Friday night as their UEFA Women’s Nations League nears its conclusion. Scotland take on Belgium in Leuven in their penultimate match, knowing that a victory is required to keep alive their hopes of avoiding relegation from League A.

After strong performances against England and Belgium in October, Scotland suffered a disappointing double header in November – losing home and away to a strong Netherlands team.

Pedro Martinez Losa’s side will be aiming to bounce back against Belgium – who they drew 1-1 with at Hampden Park earlier in the campaign.

Our Nations League campaign concludes with a game against England at Hampden Park on Tuesday. Tickets for this match are available here. 

Team News

Scotland are boosted by the return of Sam Kerr after the Bayern Munich midfielder missed the last camp through injury.

Brogan Hay, Emma Mukandi and Abi Harrison are also back, while experienced midfielder Hayley Lauder also returned to the squad after Christy Grimshaw was forced to withdraw.

Pre-match thoughts

Scotland winger Kirsty Hanson scored a brilliant goal against England and the Aston Villa player has been a stand-out for Scotland so far in this campaign.

She believes small margins have cost Scotland and insists a big result isn’t far away.

She said: “Hopefully a big win would really boost our morale because I think we are doing well with things in games but sometimes we might make a mistake and that’s when these teams will punish us.

“That’s what we need to start doing to other teams which maybe we don’t do as much.

“I think maybe people look at the results, but I think we’ve definitely improved. What we’re doing on the ball, what Pedro is encouraging us to do – close connections – everyone feels confident now.

“Even the younger ones, they all just come in and they just get on the ball and they do what they do at their club.

“Also we’ve had big injuries and we have missed them but not as much. We’ve got players that are coming straight in and we’ve got young players that are coming in that just step on the pitch like it’s nothing really and they’re just so special.

“We’ve got players that can come on now and change the game. And we believe that our team’s very talented, it’s a close knit group and it’s amazing to be a part of.

“We’re definitely playing better and hopefully, we need a big win and hopefully that happens against Belgium.”

Previous meetings

These sides met only a few months ago in a hard-fought encounter at Hampden Park. After a good performance in a 2-1 loss to England, Martinez Losa’s side were in need of a reaction and Scotland began on the front foot.

Claire Emslie’s effort was deflected wide in the 8th minute and Christy Grimshaw saw an effort saved by Belgian goalkeeper Nicky Evrard just a minute later.

The goalkeeper denied Grimshaw again later on in the first half with an even better save, getting fingertips onto a precise header. Scotland then suffered a blow with Caroline Weir forced off with what proved to be a serious injury.

Belgium had offered little as an attacking force but they took a surprise lead just before the hour mark. After a corner was only partially cleared, the ball was returned into the box and met by the head of Kassandra Missipo who headed past Lee Gibson to make it 1-0.

Scotland looked for a response and both Rachel Corsie and Amy Gallacher passed up headed opportunities as the match looked to be trickly towards a defeat.

However, with time almost up, Gibson floated forward a free-kick that Sophie Howard managed to get on the end of, heading beyond Evrard to salvage a well-deserved point for the Scots.

Where to watch

The match will be live on BBC ALBA, with coverage from 7:20pm.

Scotland Squad

Fiona Brown FC Rosengård
Jenna Clark Liverpool
Rachel Corsie Aston Villa
Erin Cuthbert Chelsea
Lauren Davidson Glasgow City
Nicola Docherty Rangers
Claire Emslie Angel City FC
Lisa Evans West Ham United
Jenna Fife Rangers
Amy Gallacher Celtic 
Lee Gibson Glasgow City
Kirsty Hanson Aston Villa
Abi Harrison Bristol City
Brogan Hay Rangers
Sophie Howard Leicester City
Sam Kerr FC Bayern Frauen
Hayley Lauder Glasgow City
Sandy MacIver Manchester City
Kirsty MacLean Rangers
Rachel McLauchlan Rangers
Emma Mukandi London City Lionesses
Jamie-Lee Napier Bristol City
Amy Rodgers Bristol City
Martha Thomas Tottenham Hotspur FC