Classic Moments
Breaking new ground: Scotland’s women at EURO 2017
If ever a game encapsulated all of the agonies and ecstasies of Scottish football, this was it. When the final whistle sounded on July 27 2017 at the De Adelaarshorst in Deventer, Holland, the final score read Scotland 1 Spain 0.
No one could have anticipated what would happen when the little forward pulled down a long ball 64 minutes into the game on September 12 2007 and turned to face the French back four.
With players closing him down and without a second’s hesitation, Faddy looked up and delivered an unstoppable shot which dipped under the crossbar and left the Parc de Prince completely dumbfounded.
This is not how this Euro qualifier was meant to unfold, particularly after the Scots had stunned France with a 1-0 win in their first meeting the previous October.
The French would be ready for this game, stars like Karim Benzema, Franck Ribery, Patrick Vieira, Samir Nasri, Claude Makelele, Davide Trezeguet and Nicolas Anelka would bury the impertinent Scots.
I am so proud of them because today we showed what we are about.
This should have stood as one of the national team’s greatest results, a victory sealed under intense pressure against a side widely viewed as favourites to progress from EURO 2017 Group D.
Instead, when the final whistle sounded, the Scotswomen were on their knees heartbroken, their dreams were crushed in the cruellest of fashions. They had won but it was Spain who went through to the Quarter Finals thanks to a solitary goal’s difference.
The 2017 Women’s European Championships were Scotland’s first appearance at a major finals and came after nearly two decades of rapid progress, the establishment of a professional pathway for players and a Scottish Women’s Premier League.
The draw was tantalising and terrifying in equal measures, with Anna Signeul’s side drawn with Portugal, Spain and ‘the auld enemy’, England in Group D. The latter would serve up a brutal and unforgiving lesson in the realities of football at this level.
England scored three in each half as Scotland were completely dismantled in a six-goal defeat in the opening game. They were then beaten 2-1 by Portugal in the next match, but still had a lifeline to cling to going into the final match.
Both Spain and Portugal had one win on the board. England had won two out of two in the final game. A win and a couple of goals in the final game against the Spanish would still be enough to send Scotland through.
Caroline Weir scored in the first half for the Scots while a series of blocks and saves kept the Spanish at bay. Ultimately they failed to carve out enough clear cut chances or find the second goal that would have seen them finish in second place.
Swedish boss Anna Signeul would ultimately step down after the defeat, leaving after 12 years in charge. After the final whistle, she told The Guardian: “It was fantastic how we fought. It has been so long that we wanted to get to this tournament that today we had everything to win and nothing to lose.