'Class': Scotland's golden girl hailed after netting maiden treble in World Cup qualifier

Captain Weir netted a treble - one of which was an excellent free-kick - while Jenna Clark and Kathleen McGovern also got on the scoresheet at Stade Emile Mayrisch in Esch-sur-Alzette.

The result leaves Scotland top of Group B4 and gives Melissa Andreatta’s side momentum ahead of Saturday’s next match against Luxembourg once more, this time at Hampden (kick-off 5pm).

"It feels really nice,” said Weir of the win. “It's great to score but getting the three points is the most important thing. Coming away from home, first game of the campaign, we wanted to get off to a fast start and we did that tonight. Five goals, clean sheet, happy with that and we move on to Saturday.

"Tonight was about finding a way to win. The conditions were a bit tricky but the team played well considering. Really organised, full of confidence.

“We've done a lot of talking about this campaign, for a whole week we've prepared. We were ready to go tonight, we wanted to hit the ground running and we did that. I'm really proud of the team."

Head coach Andreatta was left pleased by the professionalism of her players against Luxembourg. "Feels good, the start we wanted, positive from the outset,” she told BBC Scotland. "There were some areas of our game we wanted to work on, we got to do that. Now it's all about recovery and making sure we're ready for game two.

"The most pleasing start is we wanted to put in a 90-minute performance and we saw that tonight, both sides of the ball. Goals in one end and stopping them at the other.

"There's learning moments as well, we're always striving to be better. We'll look at those things and work on them in training and get ready for the return match at home."

Coach delighted with Weir

Andreatta had some warm words for Weir, who she named national team captain after taking over as Scotland head coach last year. "Class,” the head coach added. “She's a classy person, and a classy player as well.” It was Weir’s first hat-trick in a Scotland shirt.

Weir broke the deadlock in the ninth minute when she blasted home at the second attempt after a corner broke into her path just inside the box.

The Scots doubled their lead in the 27th minute as Erin Cuthbert’s free-kick from the left was headed down into the net by Clark from eight yards out.

Weir then drove home her second of the night with a low-struck free-kick from just outside the box 10 minutes later. And the forward sealed her treble in the 61st minute when she pounced in the six-yard box to divert in a Cuthbert strike that was heading wide.

McGovern completed the rout in the 88th minute with a lovely finish from the angle of the six-yard box after being set up by Charlotte Newsham.

In the other match in their group, Belgium were 3-0 winners away to Israel. To reach the World Cup in Brazil next summer, Scotland must come through two rounds of qualifying. The top three teams in the group advance to the next phase.