Scotland assistant coach Leanne Ross believes the current squad can end the national team’s eight-year wait for a major tournament by reaching the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. Ross is Scotland’s most decorated player, with 133 caps, 14 league titles and 13 major cup medals, but she never played at a World Cup. She was part of the first Scotland women’s squad to compete at a major tournament at Euro 2017, then retired after the Euros and missed the 2019 World Cup in France.
Scotland’s route to Brazil begins with a round one play-off double-header against the Czech Republic. The first leg takes them to Pardubice, east of Prague, and the tie is live on the BBC. Speaking before the trip, Ross said reaching the World Cup as a coach would be a proud moment. “It would be huge,” she said. “I never got to do it as a player, reaching that World Cup stage. I played in the Euro finals and that was an amazing experience and just topped off my career as a player, but to go and do it as part of the coaching staff, it would be such a proud moment.”
The squad contains players who have felt the pain of missing out at the final hurdle. Finland denied Scotland a place at the 2025 Euros, and before that the Republic of Ireland reached the World Cup in Australia. Many in the squad still carry the scars of those failures. Scotland could also face heavyweights Sweden in round two.
Ross, who is Glasgow City head coach, is not focusing on that threat. She said her confidence that Scotland can get “back to where we want to be” comes from the squad bringing their “magic”. “The progress that we’re making and the way that we’re playing at this moment is a real good opportunity for us to do that,” she said. “You look at the quality we have, the teams that they’re playing for, the environments that they’re in and individually them bringing their magic into this team and putting that all together.”
Ross added: “I think it’s a really exciting time for Scotland with the players we have. We need to make sure we give them the platform to go, play and get themselves on that world stage.”