Scotland captain exorcises demons with outstanding display in Hampden Park rout

Few will have felt the pain of October’s heartbreaking loss to Republic Of Ireland more than Caroline Weir, however, after her outstanding display against Costa Rica on her Hampden return the Real Madrid midfielder told us why she is confident it won’t happen again.

Caroline Weir celebrates after making it 3-0 during an international friendly match between Scotland and Costa Rica at Hampden Park, on April 11, 2023, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

She’s one of the most talked about footballers in Europe following her outstanding debut season for Spanish giants Real Madrid but when Caroline Weir stepped back on to the Hampden turf before last night’s 4-0 victory over Costa Rica, you could have forgiven her for feeling a tinge of pain.

The last time Weir took to the field at the national stadium, it was her missed penalty that would set the tone for a night of heartbreak which ultimately saw Scotland fail to qualify for the second major tournament in succession. As Republic Of Ireland celebrated a 1-0 victory and their path to Australia and New Zealand with singing and raised fists, Scotland players were inconsolable and misty eyed – including Scotland’s star player, Weir.

And while the pain of missing out this summer’s tournament won’t disappear over night, Weir knows that her Scotland team mates have started the process of exorcising the demons of recent past with morale boosting wins against Australia and Costa Rica over the Easter weekend.

"We’ve got to put to that disappointment that behind us" said the Scotland midfielder in the aftermath of the Hampden victory.

"We need to take confidence from the fact we can compete with teams that are going to the World Cup. We have to look forward to the next games. Our focus now is on the Euros and that campaign which starts later this year. We are playing good teams and getting performances and results and for the progression of this team that is really important.

"Of course, there is still disappointment – especially when we are beating teams that are going to the World Cup (Australia and Costa Rica) – but that is football and we need to learn from that disappointment.

"For me and the team, we wanted results this week, even if performances are not that nice to watch or play in.

"We wanted wins because that is the only way you change the momentum. Tonight we got a decent performance and a good win, which is really positive. It definitely gives us confidence. It is obviously difficult as we now don’t have a camp for a while but that is international football. The most important thing was results this week and changing the mood, and the momentum. We’ve done that this week so we are really happy and can take the confidence from that.”

It was 17-year-old Rangers star Emma Watson that took the headlines after her brace of goals but Weir pointed to the emergence of several young players as evidence as to why the future of Scottish Women’s will be bright, admitting they offer hope that the disappointment of years gone by can soon be a distant memory.

"To be honest, we have waited a while for young players to come through – probably since Erin (Cuthbert). We have a couple now that are kicking on and consistently playing at a decent level. There’s a fine balance between giving them chances and too much too soon but I think Pedro has done well to balance that. He is keen to bridge the gap between the older players and the younger players. Every camp there is progression and hopefully in a year we’ll be in an even better place going into some big games.”