Scotland manager Melissa Andreatta expressed a quiet satisfaction with her side after an emphatic 6-0 win over Israel in the penultimate FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier.
With Brazil next summer in sight, Scotland know that every goal could be key – having been relegated to League B, they have to negotiate autumn play-offs if they are to make it onto the plane and back to their first major tournament since 2019.
Certainly, Caroline Weir played as though Scotland’s absence from the last three tournaments has been a personal affront. She claimed a hat-trick – her second since assuming captaincy duties at the start of the campaign – and was exceptional as she and Erin Cuthbert ran the show.
“I have said it before and I will say it again, she epitomises what this team is all about,” said Andreatta. “The great thing for me is that this team has players who shares those characteristics. But with her experience and quality, she stands up in the big moments.
“But what stands out for me is the way she uplifts everyone around her and energises them with what she does and how she does it.
“I am delighted for her that she walked off with a hat-trick but in terms of the game itself I was very satisfied with lots of it. I still think we can get better. But for large period of this game this is exactly where we want to be as a team in terms of our attacking football.”
This ought to have been a home game for Scotland but the political situation meant that this game and the return game on Tuesday were scheduled to be played before closed doors at the Bozsik Arena in Budapest.
The last time the teams met at Hampden in a Nations League outing two years ago, kick-off was delayed with a protester chaining himself to a goalpost. Clearly keen to avoid a repeat, the game was moved to behind closed doors in order to avoid a repeat.
Given that so much of the build-up was centred on the reasons why, it looked as though it was a relief to the Scotland players to get onto the pitch and focus on the game itself.
There was an urgency and purpose about them from the opening stages as they looked to make an immediate mark.
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Kirsty Hanson whacked an effort off the crossbar Caroline Weir had an early effort saved from the edge of the box and Cuthbert too was in amongst it. Both midfielders were pivotal to the way the game played out as they controlled the central pastures while the front three of Claire Emslie – back in the squad after the birth of her son at the start of the year – Kirsty Hanson and Kathleen McGovern caused Israel all manner of issues.
It was a display full of not just vim and vigour but, crucially, goals too. It has been a struggle for Scotland teams in previous campaigns to show a clinical edge but there was a menace about them with Weir and Cuthbert dovetailing perfectly.
Cuthbert opened the scoring for Scotland before the game had hit the 20-minute mark. McGovern, inside the box and with her back to goal, played the ball to the feet of the Chelsea midfielder who let fly with a ferocious effort that sailed high into the top corner.
Within minutes Weir had added a second as she drilled in an effort to the bottom corner.
There could and should have been more as Scotland sustained their pressure. Cuthbert had an effort saved, Jenna Clark headed over and McGovern headed wide.
It was a portent of what the second period was to bring as Israel fell apart.
Having hinted that they were of a mind to sustain the same aggression and energy as the second period got underway, Weir ensured that they had a tangible reward for their domination.
She added her second of the night and Scotland’s third before the hour mark with Cuthbert the architect of the goal, threading the ball through to the Ballon d’Or nominee who calmly dispatched it into the bottom corner.
Weir’s hat-trick came via the spot after Israel were penalised for the use of a hand as Davidson had a shot blocked before the former Glasgow City winger netted herself with arguably the goal of the evening.
Cuthbert, once more, was instrumental in the build-up, pushing the ball into the path of Davidson who netted with a ferocious effort. Hanson made it six, a scoreline that emphatically underlined the control Scotland exerted throughout the game.
Their only concern was an injury to Cuthbert deep into added time. The midfielder had to be stretchered off in some distress after she seemed to be caught on the shin. Given the form she was in throughout the game, the last thing Andreatta would want is to be without her for Tuesday night.
“We will see how she is but you never like to see any player go down like that,” said Andreatta. “She is being assessed right now but we are hoping that it will be a positive update."
