Netherlands 1-1 Scotland: Visitors earn first Women’s Nations League point despite severe flight delay | OneFootball

Scotland held the Netherlands a 1-1 draw in Tilburg on Tuesday, achieving their first point of the UEFA Women’s Nations League campaign in legend Rachel Corsie’s last international game.

Pre-match preparations for Melissa Andreatta’s side were severely disrupted when their charter flight failed to take off on Monday, meaning the players only arrived in the Netherlands around eight hours before kickoff.

But while Jill Roord put the Netherlands ahead in the 10th minute with a right-footed strike from close range, Scotland’s Kathleen McGovern found an equaliser – against the run of play – in the 27th minute to confirm their best result of the campaign.

As it happened

The match started with strong Dutch pressure, which paid off in the 10th minute when build up play from Kerstin Casparij, Romée Leuchter, and Danielle van de Donk enabled Roord to run into the centre of the box and, after her first attempt was saved by Scottish keeper Lee Gibson, chip the ball into the top right of the net.

The Netherlands continued to press with further shots on goal, but all were thwarted; Scotland were barely able to leave their own half for the first portion of the half. Then, after a miscued pass from the Dutch defence was intercepted by Emma Lawton, McGovern broke forward. Receiving a cross from Lawton, McGovern closed in on goal to fire a left-footed strike past Daphne van Domselaar in the 27th minute.

Even though they had lost their lead, the Dutch dominated the majority of the possession for the remainder of the first half, with Gibson forced into multiple saves. And although Scotland were also searching for another goal, they weren’t playing with the same determination as the Netherlands’ side.

The Dutch domination continued for the first ten minutes of the first half until Scotland began to find their identity in the match. The tactical change of higher pressing in wide areas afforded Scotland more opportunities on goal but they lacked the clinicality to finish their chances. The tension among both sides was apparent for the remainder of the half, with both sides desperate for a victory – Scotland were particularly aggressive in the final 20 minutes of the match. But despite both sides having further chances, neither found the net again, and the match ended one all.

No matter the result tonight, Scotland would have finished bottom of their group; the Netherlands finished second, with their other group members Germany and Austria finishing first and third respectively. Regardless, tonight’s point is the first time Scotland have avoided defeat since November 2024, and could be a sign of hope for their future under Melissa Andreatta.

The lineups