Scotland will not be heading to the European Championships in Switzerland next summer, crashing out at the qualification play-off stage for the second major tournament in a row with a 2-0 defeat to Finland.
Head coach Pedro Martinez Losa was criticised for his cautious approach to last week’s first leg at Easter Road, with the goalless draw leaving the Scots needing a result in Helsinki to qualify for the finals.
Despite dominating for spells and creating numerous chances, that proved beyond them, with first half goals from Natalia Kuikka and Nea Lehtola enough for the Finns to progress at Scotland’s expense.
Here are the talking points from a disappointing evening in the Bolt Arena…
Scotland the brave?
The traditional national anthem may have been supplanted long ago by Flower of Scotland at sporting events, and an unusual rendition of the current one pre-match seemed to provoke as much stifled laughter from the players as it did stir their souls.
Would it invoke the spirit of the message behind Scotland the Brave though, and encourage a more front-foot approach after the tentative approach that was such a let-down in the first leg at Easter Road last week?
Not initially. The Scots struggled to settle and looked just as shaken as the crossbar was within the opening seconds, when Lehtola unleashed a shot that crashed off Eartha Cumings’ crossbar and back out to Sanni Franssi, who somehow put the rebound wide.
It was a warning shot the visitors failed to heed…
Poor defending costs, and Cumings will be disappointed
Having already afforded Finland too much room for that early scare from Lehtola, the Scots again failed to apply any sort of pressure to Kuikka as she advanced into the midfield.
Still, having been such a standout and reliable performer for the national side of late, goalkeeper Cumings will surely feel she should have dealt with the strike from range better than she did.
It was swerving, yes, but her starting position was off to her right, and by the time she got back towards the centre of the goal – where the ball was headed – she could only grasp at thin air as it sailed over her head and into the net.
It was an example of how discombobulated Scotland looked in the opening exchanges. They had to settle down, and in fairness, they soon did, with Erin Cuthbert testing Finnish keeper Tinja-Riikka Korpela for the first time from range.
But just as the Scots were getting a foothold, they shot themselves in the other foot.
Scots not clinical enough at either end
There looked to be little danger as Jenna Clark was doing a spot of tidying up for Scotland, but the Finns managed to apply enough pressure to win back possession and force it back to Lehtola.
This time, there would be no reprieve, and an unfortunate deflection on her shot from the edge of the area off Sophie Howard gave Cumings no chance.
It was harsh on Scotland at that stage, and at the other end, the ball just would not go in. The response was good, as Cuthbert put a gilt-edged opportunity wide, Martha Thomas stretched Korpela with a header and just after the break, Sam Kerr crashed an effort off the inside of the post.
Elmslie brought another great save from Korpela at her near post, but it just wouldn’t fall for Scotland.
Scots denied stonewall penalty?
Just before the interval, Cuthbert barrelled her way into the Finnish box, and there is no doubt that the ball popped up off the left arm of home defender Ria Oling, and that her arm was in an unnatural position.
The referee may have been unsighted, but quite why Ewa Augustyn wasn’t invited over to the VAR screen for a second look is anyone’s guess. It looked a penalty all day long, and it would have come at a crucial time.
The Scotland bench was understandably enraged.
Pedro under pressure?
Scotland came into this game on a good run of form, with a stretch of nine competitive games without defeat easing the pressure that had been building on coach Martinez Losa.
Even still though, there has long been a perception around Martinez Losa that he isn’t getting the best out of the squad of undoubtedly talented players that he has at his disposal, and that wasn’t helped by his overly cautious approach to the first leg of this tie.
Finland were unbeaten in seven home matches since Scotland won in Tampere in 2023, and it felt as though it was a huge gamble not to go all out for a win when his side had home advantage, when they were faced with a trip to a venue that has proved such a fortress of late for the Finnish.
What it all boils down to is that Scotland have now missed out on the last two major tournaments at the playoff stage, and the pressure will now mount once more on their Spanish manager.
