Well, when I say defeats, the Scotland Women’s National Team (SWNT) was heavily hammered in their last two matches. It’s no surprise that they lost to Germany both home and away in the last few days. A 0-4 loss at home was followed by Monday night’s even heavier scoreline, with the Germans running out 6-1 winners.
There were some highlights over the two matches, especially the first half in Germany. The Scots got off to a great start with a promising first half. That was backed up when captain Caroline Weir netted the opening goal just before halftime. The Scots went in 0-1 up, but Germany fought back in the second half to finish much the stronger of the two sides.
The two games did show the difference in levels between the two sides. They also represented a tough challenge for interim coach Michael McArdle. He did make changes to the squads for his run of matches but in the end, there wasn't a lot to learn or show from his games.
Scotland women’s defeats raise big questions
After the two heavy defeats, the first big question everyone had in mind was what happens next in terms of the manager. The Scottish FA (SFA) moved quickly in the end on that one. It’s four months since the last permanent manager left but they wasted no more time with their announcement of a replacement on Tuesday morning, just hours after that rout in Germany.
They have appointed Melissa Andreatta on a four-year deal as the new SWNT coach. Her first match I charge will be against Austria at the end of May. McArdle will pick up his previous day job as the SFA head of women's elite football.
Andreatta brings good international experience with her and plenty at club level too. She has been the assistant coach for the Australia women's soccer team for several years. She also has managed the U23 side since it was established in 2022.
New Scotland women’s manager brings experience and potential
Before that Andreatta learned her craft as the boss at Brisbane Roars. She won the popular vote as coach of the year there and also led the team to the women's league title. A variety of soccer roles before that makes for an impressive CV, including her time as a technical analyst for Australia as they prepared for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics.
Andreatta has shown her skills in developing young players and she’ll need that and all her other tools as she takes up the Scotland role. The job perhaps comes at a tough time after those heavy defeats on the back of missing out on qualification for Euro 2025 this summer. On the other hand, this could be ideal timing for a reset and rethink. A great chance to make changes and build for the future. Andreatta looks an impressive coach with plenty of potential. This could be the start of exciting times ahead for Scotland’s women.