Anyone but England? Maybe not this time. Scotland’s best chance of reaching the Olympics as part of Team GB is by losing heavily to the Lionesses at Hampden, as England travel north requiring “as many goals as possible” to decide a confusing set of permutations in Nations League Group A1. The build-up to what should be a grand staging of a historic football rivalry has instead been dominated by what England, who are the nominated nation when it comes to Olympics qualification, require at Hampden and whether Scotland will help or hinder the “Auld Enemy”, as well as themselves.
It is a farcical situation, one that does no favours to Scotland ahead of what is perhaps their biggest-ever home fixture against their neighbours, a dilemma everyone saw coming when England and Scotland were placed into the same group of a tournament that directly leads to Olympics qualification. As the nominated nation, it is only England’s results that count towards securing a place at Paris next summer, only the Lionesses who can qualify on behalf of Team GB by reaching the Nations League final. With Scotland playing England twice in Group A1, there has been a clear conflict of interest – one that has been sharpened given what is now on the line.
