Scotland's women's national football team head coach Melissa Andreatta has expressed absolute certainty that her squad will end the country's major tournament drought, declaring she is "500% sure" they will qualify for a significant international competition.
Andreatta, who recently marked one year in charge, emphasized her team's commitment to achieving this goal, promising they will give "blood, sweat and tears" to make it happen. While next summer's World Cup in Brazil remains a target, the Australian coach stressed that qualification during her tenure is inevitable, even if it doesn't happen immediately.
"I'm a positive person and I'd rather aim high and say this is what I want and everyone knows about it," Andreatta stated as she prepared her team for their upcoming matches. "I think human nature is to want to help and support others. That's how we got to the moon and back, people just want to jump on board and make that possible."
Scotland has not appeared in a major women's tournament since 2019, but Andreatta's confidence appears to be spreading throughout the squad, with players reportedly sharing her "501% sure" attitude about future success.
The team recently began their qualifying campaign for the 2027 World Cup with convincing victories over Luxembourg and now faces crucial back-to-back matches against Group B4 top seeds Belgium this week. The first encounter takes place at Easter Road on Tuesday evening.
Andreatta acknowledged that reaching a major tournament will likely require navigating through at least two sets of two-legged play-offs later this year, but she remains undeterred by the challenge.
"I'd rather that than play it safe because at the end of the day, if we don't get there, there's a learning and we go again for the Euros," she explained.
The coach's optimism comes at a significant moment for women's football in Scotland, with the Scottish FA recently announcing that football has become the number one sport among girls and women in the country for the first time, overtaking tennis. Participation levels have surged by 23% over the past two years.
Andreatta highlighted the importance of capitalizing on this growing momentum, noting the transformative impact that previous tournament qualifications had on the sport's popularity in 2017 and 2019.
"We saw what major tournament qualification can do in 2017 and 2019, and it's our responsibility to keep growing that and building on that," said the former Australia assistant coach. "Why stop when physical activity has so many health benefits, physically, socially, mentally?"
As Scotland prepares for their critical matches against Belgium, Andreatta's message is clear: her team is determined to transform their qualification dreams into reality and inspire the next generation of Scottish footballers in the process.