Scotland goal hero says Hibs 'homecoming' can spark end to tournament exile amid 'no baggage' claim
Scotland’s last minute hero ready for Belgium test.
Scotland’s stoppage-time hero Kathleen McGovern says the country’s youngsters can help end the team’s eight-year exile from major tournaments because they don’t carry the burden of previous failures.
McGovern, 23, has enjoyed a remarkable rise in recent years, scoring 31 goals as Hibs won the Scottish Women’s Premier League for the first time in almost two decades last season, before bagging on her first international start in a draw with the Netherlands last June after being handed a chance under new head coach Melissa Andreatta.
Despite still being in the infancy of her career, McGovern has scored almost 70 career goals at club level and has now taken the habit of finding the net on the global stage. Her richly deserved 95th-minute equaliser in the 1-1 Women’s World Cup qualifying draw with Belgium at Easter Road on Tuesday was her sixth goal in seven games for Scotland, and kept them top of Group B4 on goal difference heading into the return clash on Saturday at Den Dreef Stadium in Leuven.
“To score for my country is amazing every time for me and my family,” said McGovern. “I was frustrated as I had a few chances, but delighted I got my team back in it on and we’ll take the point. It was in the back of my mind coming to Easter Road. It felt like home. I text my gaffer [former Scotland international Joelle Murray] at Hibs and just said it felt like coming home, and it is such a good feeling to be back. I’ve never scored at Easter Road before. It is always special when I score for my country.
“I think we were unlucky not to come away with the three points, I felt we dominated the game. It is the mentality in the group. We never stop until the final whistle and you can see that. We fought right till the end. Yeah, I’m frustrated with the chances, but I’ll go back myself and look at that. At the same time, I can’t be too hard on myself because I got the team back into it.”
Defeat to Finland in the Women’s European Championship playoff final in December 2024 made it three successive tournaments that Scotland had failed to qualify for. Disposing of former head coach Pedro Martinez Losa in the aftermath of that loss and replaced by Andreatta, there’s now a distinctly fresh look to the squad, with McGovern joining the likes of Emma Lawton, Miri Taylor, and Freya Gregory as players who are playing in their first qualifying campaign for the nation.
And there’s been a clear uplift in positivity around the national team since the appointment of the Australian boss. Fuelled by the energy from her team’s recent performances, the 46-year-old doubled down on her comments that she was “500% confident” of making next summer’s tournament following Tuesday’s game.
Having beaten Luxembourg 5-0 and 7-0 in their first two qualifying fixtures, the challenge of Elisabet Gunnarsdottir’s Belgium side was always viewed as Scotland’s toughest test in the group. However, despite being seven places above them in the FIFA World Rankings, Andreatta’s side dominated large spells of the game in Leith on Tuesday and were unlucky not to emerge as victors. With just three games to go, Saturday’s return game in Belgium could prove crucial to their hopes of qualification.
The group stage being the first task they must navigate in their quest to be at next summer’s tournament in Brazil, a complex qualification system means Scotland can’t qualify via the group after being placed in the second tier of qualifying. Finishing in any of the top three spots will be enough to make it through to the next stage, but they’ll still face two further playoffs in order to seal their spot.
However, in theory, they can give themselves a better chance of further progress if they pip Belgium to top spot, with the winners paired against a runner-up or a third-placed team from another League B section in the first round of the playoffs, meaning this weekend’s game in Leuven holds major importance for both sides.
“It’s just small margins,” said McGovern. “If we tidy that up there’s no doubt we can’t get the three points on Saturday in Belgium. We don't have that baggage, because we've not had the disappointment for not qualifying. I've actually spoken to a lot of the young players, and they kind of feel the same in that sense that we come in relaxed and just want to do the best for our country. We'll go to Belgium and give it everything.”
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