Are Scotland back?

Emphatic Euro 2025 qualifying semi-final playoff win over Hungary restores the feeling for Scotland after years of disappointment. It's only old foe Finland that stand in their way

Scotland’s Nicola Docherty and Sam Kerr celebrate beating Hungary 5-0 on aggregate. Credit: Scottish National Team.

The elation of qualifying for the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup feels like a distant memory for Scotland fans, with heartbreak coming in back to back qualifying campaigns since then. Head coach Pedro Martinez Losa will be hoping it is third time lucky as Scotland once again head for a playoff final thanks to a huge 5-0 aggregate win over Hungary in the Euro 2025 qualifying playoff semi-finals.

First-leg fears

Tuesday night’s result feels even more meaningful given the forgettable 1-0 performance in the first leg in Hungary. Scotland’s showing in Budapest had raised the same concerns many have had with the Martinez Losa-era. Slow build up play was combined with Martha Thomas dropping deep and often finding herself at the heart of midfield to receive the ball. The chances created were average at best while the defence got lucky to keep a clean sheet.

Scotland goal in the first leg came from players breaking free of the shackles of sideways passes and possession for possession's sake. Jenna Clark galloped through the front line of the Hungarian press rather than opting for a safe pass to Sophie Howard. This allowed Thomas to hold a high position. Clark played it Nicola Docherty, who similarly chose not to play the extra pass down the wing or back into midfield, instead putting in a cross for Thomas to smash home.

That move showed just how good Scotland can be when playing in a more 'Scottish' manner. More intensity off the ball, matched with some direct passing and a bit of physicality. It was also a moment that gave hope to what Scotland could deliver in the second leg.

Martinez Losa was bullish after the performance in Budapest, saying "there is no way we will lose in Scotland". Comments that show a huge belief in his squad, even if that hasn’t existed among Scotland fans for a long time.

Heroics at home

In Edinburgh, Martinez Losa’s side backed up that belief with a completely different performance and a huge 4-0 result.

There were just two personnel changes from the first leg. Goalkeeper Eartha Cumings came in for Lee Alexander and Lisa Evans was pushed further forward, with Kirsty Smith coming in at right back and Kirsty Hanson dropping to the bench. There was also a change in shape, the usual 4-3-3 with Caroline Weir and Erin Cuthbert playing as wide No 8s was swapped for Cuthbert taking up a very aggressive defensive midfield role while Weir sat high. Still very much a 4-3-3 on the ball, but off it Scotland pressed in a 4-4-2 allowing Weir to join the forward line and provide an extra option to go long when we won the ball back.

While playing more direct and intense football means sacrificing some control on the game, it allows Scotland to get the most out of players who have been playing that way since they were kids. It's a stereotype of the Scottish game that may be unfashionable in the current climate of possession and ball-playing goalkeepers but, as centre-back Howard demonstrated on 17 minutes, makes Scotland better.

A long ball from Howard found Evans darting in behind the Hungarian left-back. Evans’ cutback found Sam Kerr in wide open space and with a little bit of luck, Kerr’s shot hit the bar and rebounded off the keeper’s back and into the back of the net. Scotland had the early lead.

A Cuthbert banger, composed Weir finish and Thomas strike continued the trend of Scotland playing through the lines down the right hand side and reaping the rewards.

It should have been five after Hanson added some dynamism to the left hand side and played a low ball across to Thomas in the six yard box. A fantastic tackle denied the striker - who is labelled as not scoring enough - a seventh goal in her last five appearances.

This was arguably the best performance under Martinez Losa. Confidence was on show from all of the players, with Cuthbert even saying after the match that the team have “got another level”. Nothing can go wrong from here, right? Enter Finland.

An old enemy

Ranked three places below Scotland in the Fifa rankings (that everyone loves for their accuracy), Finland are the opponents that denied Scotland a place at Euro 2022.

The 95th-minute winner from Amanda Rantanen still haunts me for how ridiculous it was. A tame shot that bounced off the keeper, then off the forward’s face, and into the net while Rantanen held her face in pain. Comical if it happens to anyone else, soul destroying for the team you support.

It’s a fixture that Scotland should emerge victorious from, the talent available to Martinez Losa is at a level potentially even higher than the team that qualified for the Euros in 2017 (beating Spain while they were there) and World Cup in 2019. The worry will be that there’s a return to regularly scheduled programming with the dull, uninspiring football that has largely marred Martinez Losa’s time in charge. It’s also a country Scotland have a worrying record against. The last meeting ended in a 1-1 draw at the Pinatar Cup, with Scotland failing to take advantage of 13 corners and 12 shots. Scotland have lost all of the other three games they’ve faced against Finland in the 2020s.

With technicians like Eveliina Summanen and Olga Ahtinen, alongside Emma Koivisto and forward Sanni Franssi, Finland are not a squad to be underestimated. But, as Lisa Evans reminded everyone after the big win last night, Scotland “have some of the best players in the world." If Scotland can bottle that belief, and continue the patterns of play shown in the second-leg against Hungary, then off to the land of chocolate, low tax, and skiing we shall go.