Exclusive:Scotland's young talents have proven their worth and can help us achieve tournament dream says 25-cap star

Scotland and Liverpool defender Jenna Clark believes the nation’s young domestic talents have already proven why they can help end their six-year tournament exile ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign.

Clark, who celebrated reaching her 25th international cap in the impressive 1-1 Nations League draw with the Netherlands earlier this month, has hailed new head coach Melissa Andreatta’s decision to include several Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL) players in his maiden squad earlier this month.

There were six representatives from the SWPL in Scotland’s starting XI in Tilburg that night, with Andreatta’s decision to blood several new faces from the Scottish top flight playing dividends after Celtic’s Emma Lawton and Hibs striker Kathleen McGovern combined superbly for the team’s equalising goal against the Dutch.

“It shines a spotlight on the Scottish league and how well it is doing, and how much it has changed,” Clarke told The Scotsman. “The gap before, when international football was accelerating and Scottish football was maybe still at the same point, was bigger. Now when players come in [from the SWPL], they are up to the level straight away. As long as that can keep happening, it is a good thing.”

And Clark, who won several league titles with Glasgow City as a youngster before moving to Liverpool in 2023, has been encouraged by what she sees developing in the early days of Andreatta’s reign. The 23-year-old believes rise of the professional women’s domestic game in Scotland will be of huge benefit to the national team revealing why she believes Andreatta’s decision to blood the country’s up and coming youngsters early is a huge plus.

Alessia Russo of Arsenal runs with the ball whilst under pressure from Jenna Clark of Liverpool during the Barclays Women's Super League match between Liverpool and Arsenal last year. | Arsenal FC via Getty Images

“It’s competitiveness across the league,” said Clark. “You’d maybe have the top two or three, but the growth of the game, and seeing more teams invest, more teams going semi-pro and professional. The full league as a whole is looking a lot more competitive. A lot us of us down here were watching it last season. It was exciting, and it could have went any way. Club investment has been massive. Women’s football has grown in Scotland a lot.

“For young players, it’s good to be in that professional environment. It helped me massively. At 15, 16, and the time I spent at Glasgow City, I was playing with the best players in the country, players who were playing for their national team. They were setting professional standards before professionalism was even mentioned in women’s football in Scotland.

Scotland's Jenna Clark (left) and England's Lauren Hemp battle for the ball during the UEFA Women's Nations League Group A1 match at Hampden Park. | PA

“Not just on the pitch, but off the pitch. Looking after what you’re eating, your recovery, preparing for your next game, your next training session. It helped me massively, the players and coaching staff around me I had from a young age instilled that in me to get me where I am now. I’m 23, I feel like I’ve got good experience and those years were fundamental to me. I’m big on looking after myself off the pitch, and I had a mature environment at a young age.

“Are these players more than capable to play in England, or play abroad? The answer is yes, but the Scottish league is also offering a really high standard. They are playing in that league and they are absolutely smashing it, so it is helping at international stage. It can only be good for us as an international team.”

Sign up to The Scotsman’s daily football newsletter to get unrivalled Scottish football news and analysis - subscribe for free here.