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Scotland at UEFA Women's Euro 2017

The 2017 UEFA Women's Championship in the Netherlands saw the tournament expanded from 12 to 16 teams with the Scotland women’s national team reaching the finals for the first. Head Coach Anna Signeul had led the team to second place in qualifying, finishing just behind Iceland on goal difference.

Scotland were drawn in Group D alongside England, Portugal and Spain with the first match taking place against England on 19 July 2017 at the Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht. After a bright start, Scotland were limited to few opportunities and were outplayed by one of the favourites for the tournament. England won the match 6-0 with striker Jodie Taylor scoring a hat-trick and England’s biggest ever finals win.

The next match against Portugal took place in Rotterdam just a few days later and was a far more promising performance. Portugal led through Carolina Mendes’ first half goal but an excellent strike from Erin Cuthbert put Scotland right back in it. Portugal were quick to respond and Scotland lost the match by a single goal. As England had beaten Spain, Scotland still had the chance to reach the knockout stages if they could win their final match by two clear goals.

Scotland put in their strongest performance of the tournament with veteran goalkeeper Gemma Fay making a series of strong saves while Caroline Weir put Scotland ahead after 42 minutes. Despite late pressure, Scotland couldn’t find another goal meaning they went out on goal different. But the team enjoyed a steep learning curve and showed they could mix with the biggest teams in international football. Now they’ve enjoyed a taste for major finals, the best is yet to come.