Women's Euro 2022 Podcast: Scotland and Arsenal defender Jennifer Beattie joins us for Episode 2 - Beth Mead, the opening games and Caroline Weir's move to Real Madrid

The Women’s Euros 2022 has started with a real bang, as record breaking performances meet record breaking attendances – and we’re here to pick apart everything that happened in week one of the tournament with Scotland and Arsenal icon Jennifer Beattie.

The UEFA Women’s European Championship had picked up loads of hype in the lead up to the tournament, and it has really delivered in it’s opening week, and fans across the country are revelling in an atmosphere that continues to show the growth of women’s sport in the United Kingdom.

With the ceiling of the game being broken through even further, The Scotsman were delighted to welcome a player who has been at the forefront of the Scottish game for well over a decade in Arsenal defender Jen Beattie, following on from last week’s preview with her Scotland team-mate, goalkeeper Lee Gibson.

The Glasgow born defender is one of Scotland’s most successful players of all time, having gained 140 caps since making her debut in 2008 aged just 17. She also has an impressive 23 goals for Scotland, one of which came during the country’s maiden appearance at the Women’s World Cup in 2017.

Beattie has made over 300 career appearances, which the bulk of those coming for footballing powerhouses such as current club Arsenal, Manchester City and Montpellier after beginning her career in the Scottish Women’s Premier League with Queen’s Park and, latterly, Celtic Ladies.

Away from football, the Glasgow born internationalist was honoured with the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason award in 2021. Beattie was awarded the honour after overcoming tremendous adversity when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2020, yet continued to play for club and country throughout her course of treatment. Now cancer-free, she continues to speak openly about her diagnosis in order to help others.

Scotland defender Jennifer Beattie joins us for episode two of our Women's Euro 2022 show (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

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And luckily for ourselves, the Scotland hero joined us this week to discuss an excellent opening week of games at Euro 2022.

She shares her thoughts on Arsenal team mate Beth Mead after her outstanding performance – and hat trick – in England’s gobsmacking 8-0 win over Norway, while she also speaks on her other Gunner’s team mate, and Lionesses captain, Leah Williamson, who has also had an excellent start to the campaign.

We also discuss the moving viral video which was shared across Twitter in the last month that saw six-year-old Scotland fanatic Caris, who had written about how much Beattie inspired her at her school, meet her idol in a surprise meeting at Scotland training camp, the Oriam.

We also chat her favourites for the tournament and why Scotland midfielder Caroline Weir’s move to Real Madrid can inspire a whole new generation of women’s footballers.

It’s a jam packed episode, and we sincerely hope you enjoy it.