Melissa Andreatta’s ‘hungry’ Scotland face Belgium, Israel and Luxembourg in World Cup qualifiers

Belgium

Scotland faced the Belgian team 13 times, winning five of them, drawing three and losing five.

Their last two meetings came in the UEFA Nations League, where they drew 1-1 in both matches, in September 2023 at Hampden and three months later in Leuven.

Although those two draws were the only points the Scots got in the top flight, a lasting memory comes from the first meeting at Hampden, when Caroline Weir ruptured her cruciate ligament.

Belgium finds itself in League Two after losing a play-off to the Republic of Ireland, having finished third in its group, behind Spain and England but above Portugal.

New Belgian coach Elisabet Gunnarsdottir has led Valur to four Icelandic titles.

Israel

Scotland last played Israel in a European Championship qualifier in June 2024, winning 5-0 in neutral Hungary after a 4-1 win at Hampden the previous month.

That injury against the Belgians meant Weir would miss Nations League Two, but the Scots did not need the magic of the Real Madrid midfielder to pull off impressive victories.

Martha Thomas scored all four goals in the match played outside closed doors in Budapest.

Following the October 7 Hamas attack and the Israeli government’s military response, the UEFA European Football Association, UEFA, decided not to hold any matches in its competitions in Israel for security reasons.

As a result, Hungary has been mostly home to Israel’s men’s and women’s soccer teams over the past seven months.

When the Israelis came to Hampden, kick-off was delayed as a protester chained himself to the goal post.

The Scots topped their group last year, with Israel finishing last and relegated to the third tier.

However, Neso Avitan’s side have since won promotion again, topping the three-team group that also included Estonia and Bulgaria without losing a match.

Overall, Scotland have won all four meetings between the two sides.

Luxembourg

Scotland will play Luxembourg for the first time.

Dan Santos’ side won promotion to League B after finishing their group unbeaten against Kazakhstan, Armenia and Liechtenstein.

Although Scotland has a recent history with Belgium and Israel, Andreatta said: “I think that helps, but what we also need to remember is that every team is making progress in the women’s game.”