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Relegated Scotland host England at Hampden Park in a huge League A1 clash in 2023-24 UEFA Women’s Nations League.
Scotland are already relegated and will finish bottom of the group regardless of their result here, whilst England must win and hope that Netherlands fail to beat Belgium elsewhere in order to top the group.
Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses however can still qualify for the semi-finals even if Netherlands win, as long as they win by a four-goal margin, which in-turn would keep their and Scotland’s dreams of achieving Olympic qualification alive.
Team News
Scotland have no fresh injury concerns to report after their 1-1 draw away to Belgium.
England have no fresh injury concerns to report after their comeback win over Netherlands, with Beth Mead pushing to start after her impact as a substitute against the Dutch.
When is Kick-Off?
Scotland host England at Hampden Park, Glasgow, at 7:45pm GMT on Tuesday 5 December, live on BBC One in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Scotland lost their only previous UEFA Women’s Nations League clash against England by 2-1 result in September 2023.
- England have won each of their last six visits to Scotland in all competitions (W6).
- Scotland have conceded 18 goals and scored one goal in six home matches against England on Scottish soil in all competitions.
- Scotland have kept clean sheets in the first half in each of their two previous home games in this group (D1, L1).
- England have conceded first in each of their two previous away games in this group (L2).
Prediction
With relegation to League B confirmed, Scotland know the pressure is off them which might well help their performance after having grinded out a draw in Belgium, because I just don’t see them rolling out the carpet for England out of pure national pride.
England though must improve defensively because their defence was just sloppy in the first half against a fast-paced Dutch counter-attack, yet their attack looked up for the game and everything just clicked for a brilliant comeback once Mead got on the pitch.
Wiegman therefore has a tough decision to make because she could start Mead again on the bench or unleash her from the very start, which might be a wise decision because England need a seriously big win and luck to go their way to top this group.
England however can take heart from previous generations who have scored four goals on Scottish soil before, but the game has evolved enormously since those days so I do expect a closer battle with the Lionesses relying upon Belgium doing them a favour elsewhere.
Prediction: Scotland 1-2 England
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