SCOTLAND women’s national team manager Shelley Kerr has named a largely unchanged squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifier double-header against Belarus and Poland next month.
But one significant bonus is the return of Hibs midfielder Lizzie Arnot, who has been off the international scene for over a year after rupturing her ACL last March. The 22-year-old’s performance in last weekend’s Premier League Cup final, in which Hibs defeated Celtic 9-0 with Arnot scoring five goals, was enough to convince Kerr to include her in the squad which also includes Arsenal midfielder Kim Little and the Manchester City forwards Claire Emslie and Jane Ross.
And Kerr admits that the addition of Arnot is a welcome addition.
“Lizzie has been out for a long time now and she was always one of the players we identified as being a talent,” the manager said.
“She was really unfortunate to get her injury, but she has been so focused, so resilient and she has been so regimented in getting herself fit. It’s exciting to have her back in and looking at some of the players who have missed out it’s a really competitive squad.”
Kerr revealed that selecting this squad presented with the toughest challenge of her tenure to date but that is, she admitted, an excellent problem to have.
With four games played, Scotland are currently sitting in second placed in group 2, six points behind group leaders Switzerland and two ahead of third-placed Poland, and Kerr admits that while she is satisfied with her team’s performances to date, she is not underestimating the importance of this double-header.
“We’re where I thought we would be at this moment in time,” she said.
“We’re looking forward to the next game against Belarus and not thinking too far ahead of that. The Belarus game is really crucial for us to try to bridge the gap between us and Switzerland and put them under pressure.
“I don’t accept the worst we can do is finish second in the group. We’re only half-way through the campaign and anything can happen. I’ve been too long involved to have those expectations that you’re going to be here or there. So it’s very much one game at a time.”
Scotland’s last two outings were a defeat to Switzerland and a victory over Poland last month but while the 3-0 victory over the latter was not quite as comfortable as the scoreline suggests, with the Poles using their physicality to cause the Scots a number of problems.
But Kerr is not unduly worried about teams using their physical presence as a weapon against her side and believes they are well-equipped to deal with whatever is thrown at them.
“We'll make reference to key (video) clips (from the previous game) that will help the players. It's about understanding what the problems are and how to come up with solutions. That's part of our criteria in moving the team forward – creating scenarios where they can problem solve.
"The more they have access to that in a training environment the more they can do it in a game.
"I felt they showed real experience and a calmness in that game against Poland. Everybody was saying we didn't play well, and in some parts we didn't, but looking back they didn't cause us many problems. They got a penalty that was never a penalty. Lee (Alexander) made a great save and from there I think we were very good.”
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