Scotland go one step closer to ending six-year heartache as they ignite Euros dream at Easter Road

In the lead up to the vital play-off game, head coach Pedro Martinez Losa had come under fire after insisting there was "no way would Scotland lose at home” in the second-leg of the Euros play-off, though first-half goals from Sam Kerr, Erin Cuthbert and Caroline Weir proved the Spaniard’s words had some justification.

The 48-year-old had played down his eyebrow-raising comments pre-match press conference, insisting they were borne out of “excitement after the game to come back home”, adding he was simply speaking "in the moment" when he made his statement of confidence.

Martinez Losa made two intriguing chances from Thursday’s first leg-win in Budapest, opting to switch goalkeeper Lee Gibson with Eartha Cummings, while full-back Kirsty Smith was preferred to wide-forward Kirsty Hanson in the capital. The returning Caroline Weir kept the armband in the absence of Rachel Corsie after making a successful from a year out with an ACL injury last week.

Despite ranking 23 places above Hungary in the FIFA World Rankings, there was little to separate the sides in the early stages of the game, with the Easter Road crowd forced to wait until the 11th minute for their first sight of goal, when a smart corner saw the ball land at the feet of Weir, who’ll be disappointed she didn’t test Lauren Brzykcy in the visitors net. Martha Thomas then tested the goalkeeper from a tight angle moments later.

Any early anxiety was blasted away on 17 minutes though when Scotland opened the scoring on the night through Kerr, who latched onto Lisa Evans excellent cut back to blast the ball off the bar, only for it to unluckily rebound in via the legs of Brzykcy to double Scotland’s advantage in the tie. Just over 10 minutes later, Cuthbert’s long range drive effectively ended the tie as a contest and deflect into the Hungary net.

Captain Weir added extra gloss early in the second half when she placed home expertly after a delightful back-hell from Thomas played her clean through on goal. The striker then got in the act herself when she fired a low shot into the bottom corner.

Finland’s 6-0 aggregate win over Macedonia earlier in the afternoon now pits Scotland against Marko Saloranta’s side for a place at next summer’s European Championship. The two nations will clash over two legs in the final Euros qualification play-off, with games set to take place in the week of Wednesday 27 November and Tuesday 2 December.

As for Martinez Losa, his squad’s dominant victory in Edinburgh meant he was able to navigate past his risky pre-match comments with consummate ease. However, the Spaniard now has the chance finally banish scepticism around his management of the national team by beating Finland and leading Scotland to their major tournament since 2019.