Portugal manager Roberto Martinez was in a defensive mood following his team's goalless draw away to Scotland in the Nations League on Tuesday night. 

After scoring in each of the Spaniard's first 12 competitive matches in charge of Portugal, the Selecao have since drawn a blank in four of their last seven matches. 

Portugal did have their chances, however, registering 14 shots during the contest, though only three were on target, ending the night with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.52.

Martinez faced criticism for lacking a plan B after his side struggled to break the Scots down.

"Our talent of our players, is plan A, B, C, D, E," he told De Sporto after the match.

"We have players inside, outside, we are talking about a team that did not take risks, that defended very well.

"We are talking about a team [Portugal] that reached 53 times in the last third. We have to give credit to Scotland and to us the fact that we managed to keep a clean sheet."

It was a frustrating night for Martinez and fans alike.

Despite Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Jota among other big hitters starting, they were unable to find a way past 41-year-old goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who made some impressive saves when they did get in on goal.

When asked what was missing from the performance, he alluded to a lack of individual quality.

"A decision, a little bit of magic in the area. We had a lot of desire, we worked very well without the ball," Martinez said.

"It was a dangerous game because we could have possession of the ball, but Scotland have little need to score a goal. We showed freshness, but we lacked freshness in the last third.

"You also have to give credit to Scotland, they had a lot of players in front of goal, their goalkeeper also made a spectacular save."

Following the performance and result at Hampden Park, there have been further questions about Martinez's selection policy for Portugal.

The most high-profile query of all remains whether 39-year-old Ronaldo should continue, having had a difficult night on his 200th start for his country.

"The national team always has an open door, but now we are talking about a very, very large group of players," said Martinez.

"It is a question of continuing to connect and synchronise what we can do. Now the game in Porto is to celebrate qualification in front of our fans."

Scotland manager Steve Clarke, meanwhile, was much happier with the evening's result, which ended a four-game losing run for Scotland.

"It's not about turning a corner, it's just about working hard and not letting the country down. You could see that tonight," he said.

"The point was important for us after the work the group put in to get off the mark."

The result also marked Scotland's first clean sheet since beating Gibraltar 2-0 seven games ago in a pre-Euro 2024 warm-up friendly.

The performance at the back was another thing that pleased Clarke.

"Defensively sound, the shape of the team was good," he said. 

"We denied a lot of space in behind. Good concentration in the box, determined defending at times, some really good blocks, which you need against sides like Portugal.

"Everyone contributed to earn the point."

Despite taking an unexpected point, Scotland are still bottom of their Nations League group, while the draw means they are winless in 10 matches - their longest ever run.

But Clarke feels the players will take a lot from Tuesday's match that will help them going forward.

"Everyone keeps talking about confidence, but they know they can play well," he said. 

"We maybe didn't play as well as we could on the ball, which could be down to fatigue. But I don't think they lack confidence. Tonight's point will give us more confidence."

Scotland have their first point of their 2024-25 Nations League campaign, having held Portugal to a 0-0 draw at Hampden Park.

The match itself was not a great spectacle with limited chances either way, as Cristiano Ronaldo's 200th start for Portugal ultimately ending in disappointment. 

It was a performance of grit over style for Steve Clarke's side, though, who managed just three shots during the match.

Portugal came closest to finding the net, with Craig Gordon getting down expertly to stop Bruno Fernandes slotting home from a Rafael Leao cutback in the 87th minute.

The draw leaves Scotland bottom of Nations League Group A1, although their first point means the gap to third-placed Poland stays at three points ahead of the two meeting in the November international break.

Portugal, meanwhile, are top of the standings on 10 points and know a point from their remaining two games will seal their progression to the quarter-finals, after maintaining their three-point buffer to second-placed Croatia following their 3-3 draw with Poland.

Data Debrief: Scotland ruin Ronaldo's landmark appearance

After scoring in each of Roberto Martinez’s first 12 competitive matches in charge of Portugal, the Selecao have since drawn a blank in four of their last seven matches under the Spaniard.

Portugal attempted 715 passes tonight - their highest number in this Nations League campaign, with their 14 attempts the lowest they have managed in the competition this term, ending the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.52. 

Scotland, meanwhile, are now winless in their last 10 competitive matches (D4 L6), their longest-ever run without a competitive victory, though they managed to keep a clean sheet against a team above them in the FIFA rankings for the first time since a 2-0 win over Spain in 2023.

Finland came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Scotland at Hampden Park as their Euro 2024 preparations concluded. 

The hosts had to wait until the 54th minute to find the breakthrough having dominated the ball in the first half, as Andy Robertson, who captained Scotland for a record 49th time, saw his searching delivery turned home by the unfortunate Arttu Hoskonen. 

The Liverpool full-back had broken a 67-year record previously held by George Young, and he was at the heart of the action again four minutes later as Anthony Ralston's attempted cross fell kindly into his path, taking his time before picking out Lawrence Shankland to head beyond Viljami Sinsalo. 

Scotland rang the changes, with Craig Gordon replacing Angus Gunn in goal to become the Tartan Army's oldest player at 41 years and 159 days, but he would endure an outing to forget. 

The Motherwell goalkeeper would pick the ball out of the net three minutes after his introduction as substitutes Oliver Antman and Benjamin Kallman combined, with the latter heading the ball into the bottom corner. 

Finland then clinched a draw late on as Gordon was adjudged to have fouled Tomas Galvez inside the box, with Antman stepping up and placing the ball down the middle.

Data Debrief: Scotland denied late on

Scotland maintained their record of having never lost a match against Finland in their nine meetings (six wins, three draws). They have now only faced the Faroe Islands (11 games) more often without losing in their international history, also facing Cyprus on nine occasions without losing.

However, Steve Clarke will have been frustrated by their late collapse, and similarly generous defending will certainly be punished by Germany in next week's Euro 2024 opener. 

Philippe Clement is adamant under-pressure Rangers will focus fully on playing to their own strengths in Sunday’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final with Hearts.

The Ibrox side head into the Hampden showdown on the back of a damaging run of two wins from their last eight games in all competitions, with their cinch Premiership title bid having been dented significantly by a return of just two points from their last three matches.

Hearts, by contrast, go into the match buoyed by back-to-back wins over St Mirren and Livingston and are 11 points clear of their nearest rivals in their quest to secure third place in the table.

Clement dismissed any notion that his side must adapt their game-plan in any way to deal with Steven Naismith’s on-form team and instead must simply attempt to play their own game to a higher standard than they have been recently.

“I don’t counter anything,” he said. “We will play our own game, we don’t need to counter another team.

“We are going to play our own game and believe in ourselves and show our qualities.

“To win we need a better performance than we had on Wednesday (in the 0-0 draw at Dundee), for sure. We need to do the right things against Hearts who have played a very good season.

“It’s a very interesting test for the players and I know they are all hungry to go to the final. They’ve had the experience of going to a final and winning it (the Viaplay Cup) and some of them have won several already so the mood is big.”

Clement felt some anxiety crept into Rangers’ play on Wednesday and caused them to go too direct, so he has called for them to rediscover their composure when in possession.

“Against Dundee we were too direct so we lost the balance in that way,” he said. “Sometimes we wanted to play too fast and it’s finding that good balance by showing it with images and what we need to do and take lessons out of that.

“Maybe the hunger was too big to go too fast forward. We need to find a good balance and do that in a better way against Hearts.”

Rangers have been subjected to ferocious criticism recently and Clement admits he will find out a lot about his players in terms of how they respond under pressure in the coming weeks.

“It is easy to be good and be happy when it goes easy,” he said. “It is when the going gets tough you see the personality and the character.

“Players can grow in this. It is a growing experience. It is not only from nature that you have this, you can grow in that.

“That is an important part of being part of this club. It is also something that Nils (Koppen, director of football recruitment) knows really well, it is something to look at in recruitment also.”

Scotland defender Jack Hendry will remain positive and make the most of their Euro 2024 opportunity after a seventh game without a win saw some fans turn against the team.

Boos rang out during and after the 1-0 Hampden defeat by Northern Ireland as Scotland failed to make the most of the vast majority of possession.

Conor Bradley’s first-half strike, which came courtesy of Nathan Patterson’s error, gave Michael O’Neill’s young side something to hold on to, and they did so successfully as Scotland struggled to hit the target or carve out a series of clear-cut chances.

Scotland had not gone seven matches without victory for 19 years – that sequence helped spell the end of Berti Vogts’ reign as manager.

But such runs can turn quickly in the other direction, just as Steve Clarke’s side followed up their flying start to their European qualifying campaign with this sticky spell.

The 2005 low point was followed by a run which saw Scotland lose just twice in 14 matches, under Walter Smith and Alex McLeish, and Hendry abruptly dismissed suggestions their form was a concern heading into their group campaign against hosts Germany, Switzerland and Hungary.

When asked about the Hampden reaction, the centre-back added: “It probably says a lot about how successful we have been that they are disappointed with that result.

“Look, we were extremely disappointed in that changing room as well but it shows how far we have come that they are disappointed with that type of performance against Northern Ireland.

“We know the fans’ frustration, we understand it, and we will try and make them extremely proud in the summer.

“We have done extremely well to get ourselves into the Euros and won’t let that slip by us.

“We will go into that camp in June extremely positive, with the motive to try and get out of that group.

“It’s about remaining positive, sticking together and believing we are heading in the right direction, because we are, we believe we are.

“It’s disappointing but we have a lot to look forward to in the summer, and so do the fans. So we have just got to stick together and stay positive.”

Scotland were generally slow in possession before becoming more direct as the second half progressed, as key attacking players struggled to reach their recent standards.

Hendry said: “Northern Ireland made it very difficult for us. We just didn’t seem to get into the game. It was probably important we scored first in the match and we didn’t do that.

“Northern Ireland obviously got a break and managed to hold on to the lead and we struggled to break them down.

“These games happen, we won’t dwell on it too long. We will look forward to meeting up in the summer.

“It was just one of those nights. We dominated the game, possession-wise, it was just unfortunate we couldn’t break them down.

“You have sometimes got to give plaudits to the opposition. Northern Ireland defended really well, we were unfortunate not to break them down.

“We just take it on the chin, we stick together, we remain positive. It’s a setback but we will bounce back from it pretty quickly. We will certainly learn from it but not dwell on it too much.”

Steve Clarke remains confident that Scotland will be ready for Euro 2024 this summer despite their winless run being extended to seven games with a 1-0 friendly defeat by Northern Ireland at Hampden Park.

The Scotland boss was looking for a response following a 4-0 defeat to the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Friday night but midfielder Conor Bradley’s first international goal gave Northern Ireland a first win in Mount Florida in 50 years.

Scotland have not been on a seven-game winless run since August 2004 to March 2005 and they take on Gibraltar and Finland in June friendlies before facing Euro 2024 hosts Germany in the opening game of the tournament at the Allianz Arena.

“I’m not counting,” said Clarke, who revealed captain Andrew Robertson will be assessed at Liverpool after going off with an injury. “We are going to be ready in June and that is the most important thing.

“The performance was okay, we wanted to win the game.

“Credit to Northern Ireland, I thought they were excellent, good shape, discipline, defended with their lives. We had 14 shots blocked, that is good defending.

“They had two chances and scored with one of them.

“They got the goal with the deflection, we didn’t find enough to get the goal to equalise or go on to win the game.

“We had a lot of the game. We tried our best to open them up. It was difficult to find space.

“It was a totally different game to what we have played recently, we were playing against the top teams and they open the pitch and you saw on Friday night that we manged to create a number of really good chances.

“Tonight when we needed a little bit of craft or guile towards the last third of the pitch we couldn’t find that and that is basically why we lose the game.

“We had more than the lion’s share of possession, 14 shots, but not one good enough to go into the back of the net.

“It’s probably fair to say we’re not very good at friendlies because we don’t win too many of them.

“Let’s hope when we come to the competitive games in June we are ready to go. I’m sure we will be.

“The biggest thing for us is to be ready for June.

“I’m a little bit late into the press conference. I would rather be sitting here in my position.

“Unfortunately Wales have just been knocked out on penalty kicks. It’s not all doom and gloom.”

Conor Bradley was “absolutely buzzing” after his first Northern Ireland goal was enough for Michael O’Neill’s side to beat disappointing Scotland 1-0 in a friendly at Hampden Park.

A deflected shot from Bradley in the 32nd minute put Northern Ireland in front against the run of play, and despite having more than 80 per cent possession, Scotland could not find a way back as their winless run stretched to seven games to leave big questions over their Euro 2024 preparation.

For Bradley, it was yet another big moment in a breakthrough season as the Green and White Army enjoyed their first win at Hampden Park in 50 years and the 20-year-old became the first Liverpool player to score for Northern Ireland in 110 years.

“I’m absolutely buzzing,” Bradley told BBC Sport. “I don’t think I could even dream it would go the way it did. To get a 1-0 win, it’s fantastic, a great night all round.

“I was just hoping it would go in and I was buzzing when I’ve seen it go in the top corner. I don’t even know what happened after that.”

Bradley, already the first Liverpool player to turn out for Northern Ireland since Sammy Smith in 1954, became the first Red to score for the country since Billy Lacey in 1914.

“That’s crazy,” Bradley said. “I knew I was the first Northern Ireland player from Liverpool in about 70 years and that’s even madder, to be fair.”

The win, and Bradley’s goal, underlines the sense that this is a new Northern Ireland side building for the future.

They came into the game on the back of an encouraging 1-1 draw away to Romania on Friday, and have held their own against two sides heading to the Euros this summer.

“We’re delighted with the result,” O’Neill said.

“It was a really good performance, a strong performance. Defensively we were excellent. With the team as it is at this minute, the team is maturing, it’s a brilliant result for the lads.

“We’ve played two very good sides who are going to be in Germany in the summer and that gives us a target. We’re not going to be there but it builds confidence, it builds belief in the players and that was the purpose of taking these games.

“Scotland will have different games in the finals where they will not have so much of the ball and that will probably suit them a little bit as well.”

Scotland certainly have a lot to think about going into the summer after a humbling week, having lost 4-0 to Netherlands in Amsterdam on Friday.

“It’s been a frustrating camp,” said Leeds defender Liam Cooper. “Ideally you’d like to go in to May and June on the back of a successful camp but it wasn’t meant to be. We have to get back to ourselves ASAP.

“We didn’t get too high when we got out of the camp and now is not the time to turn on each other and dig each other out. We’ve got to get back to ourselves and work hard to be the team we know we can be.

“Northern Ireland sat in tonight and we’ve got to be prepared to be patient and break them down. I think we got a bit edgy tonight and in the final third we could have been a bit more patient and wait for openings to be there.

“We forced it at times. Those are all things we can improve on and I’m sure the manager knows exactly what we’re doing come May in preparation for the Euros. We’ve got to get our heads down and work hard.”

Scotland’s winless run became a concern after it was extended to seven games with a dismal 1-0 friendly defeat by Northern Ireland at Hampden Park.

The Tartan Army were looking for a response following a 4-0 defeat by the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Friday night but were shocked when midfielder Conor Bradley fired in for the visitors after 32 minutes.

The home side picked up the pace after the break but could not break down Michael O’Neill’s determined side, who stood firm to register Northern Ireland’s first win in Mount Florida in almost 50 years.

Scotland have not been on a seven-game winless run since August 2004 to March 2005 and they take on Gibraltar and Finland in June friendlies before they face hosts Germany in the Euro 2024 opener at the Allianz Arena.

Somehow they need to regain their groove or there could be more pain to come.

The Scots had long since booked their place in this summer’s Euros with a terrific qualifying campaign but they were under a bit of pressure following the Dutch defeat.

Manager Steve Clarke made two changes with centre-back Liam Cooper in for Ryan Porteous and striker Lyndon Dykes in for Lawrence Shankland.

There was a youthful look about O’Neill’s side which showed three changes from the team that started in the 1-1 draw in Romania, with former St Johnstone midfielder Ali McCann, Dan Ballard and goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell returning at the expense of ex-Celtic stopper Conor Hazard, Jordan Thompson and Paddy Lane.

Scotland tried to build some early pressure after midfielder Ryan Christie curled an effort from the edge of the visitors’ area wide of the post, but Northern Ireland were not unduly bothered.

The game drifted along with Peacock-Farrell having next to nothing to do before it took an unexpected turn.

Scotland wing-back Nathan Patterson recovered well to rescue an original mistake when a pass deep inside his own box was intercepted by Bradley and the 20-year-old Liverpool defender turned inside before firing high past goalkeeper Angus Gunn, with the aid of a slight deflection off defender Jack Hendry for his first international goal.

Then Scotland captain Andrew Robertson went off with an injury to be replaced by midfielder Lewis Ferguson and the home side returned to a back four with Kieran Tierney moving to left-back.

Northern Ireland almost doubled their lead on a speedy counter, with Shea Charles guiding the ball just wide, as did Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay – moments later – at the other end.

Boos from the home fans accompanied the half-time whistle.

Scotland started the second half with increased tempo but there still remained a lack of incision and guile and while Jamie Reid fired wide to end a Northern Ireland attack, at least it was an effort on goal.

In the 63rd minute, John McGinn’s free-kick came off Liam Cooper’s shoulder and skipped past the visitors’ goal and the home fans drove their side forward with increasing gusto.

Tierney was finding space down the left but the Scots could not capitalise.

Che Adams and Kenny McLean replaced Dykes and Gilmour in the 68th minute before Shankland and Stuart Armstrong also came on for Christie and McGinn.

Shankland soon had a close-range shot blocked by Brodie Spencer and Peacock-Farrell tipped a Ferguson header over the crossbar for a corner, before Shankland sent a header over and then four added minutes ran out.

Scotland have regressed recently in terms of results but it is this performance that should primarily concern Clarke.

Dundee United were unable to find the breakthrough against struggling Queen’s Park as their Scottish Championship clash ended goalless at Hampden Park.

United had a chance when Kevin Holt’s header was blocked on the line before Jordan Tillson’s strike was saved by Queen’s Park goalkeeper Calum Ferrie.

Tony Watt had a great opportunity to put the visitors ahead from close range but was unable to find the net and Ferrie was called into action again to save Louis Moult’s effort.

The result sees second-placed United remain five points behind leaders Raith, while the Spiders stay bottom of the table.

Rangers midfielder Jose Cifuentes will miss the Viaplay Cup final after losing his appeal against the red card shown to the Ecuadorian during Saturday’s victory over Dundee.

The 24-year-old was initially booked by referee Kevin Clancy after catching Amadou Bakayoko late with his studs after the Dundee forward slid in to win the ball midway through the Gers’ 3-1 win. But he was then sent off following a VAR review.

A fast-track tribunal has upheld Clancy’s final decision and Cifuentes will start a two-match domestic ban when Rangers meet Aberdeen in Sunday’s Hampden clash.

The Ibrox club have also been missing the injured Tom Lawrence, Nico Raskin and Ryan Jack from their midfield in recent games.

England forward Beth Mead said the team were “absolutely devastated” after missing out on the Nations League finals and failing to qualify for the Olympics for Team GB.

A dramatic evening saw England thrash Scotland 6-0 at Hampden Park, with Lucy Bronze’s stoppage-time header looking like it would be the crucial goal for the Lionesses to finish top of Group A1.

However, a late added-time brace from Damaris Egurrola meant the Netherlands pipped Sarina Wiegman’s team to the summit on goal difference, ending Team GB’s hopes of qualifying for Paris 2024 and ensuring the Dutch reached the inaugural Nations League finals.

Making her first international start since sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury more than 12 months ago, Mead bagged one of the six England goals, but acknowledged it was tough losing out by “small margins”.

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t in our hands and the Netherlands got the four goals,” she told englandfootball.com. “Congratulations to them but we’re absolutely devastated to miss out by such small margins.

“We made sure we kept in communication and Sarina was telling us what was happening in the other game so we knew what we were meant to do.

“We got the late goal and we thought we’d maybe got over the line but, unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and that’s football. It is small margins, there were injury-time goals in both games and it wasn’t meant to be.”

European champions England lost out narrowly to the Netherlands and Belgium in their group games, going down 2-1 to the Dutch in September before a late Tessa Wullaert penalty saw Belgium win 3-2 in October.

The Lionesses had kept their qualification hopes alive going into the Scotland game as Ella Toone’s stoppage-time strike secured a 3-2 comeback triumph over the Netherlands in the reverse fixture at Wembley on Friday.

“It’s a tough one,” Mead added. “I think the girls have worked really hard. I thought we were incredible this camp.

“We’ve done ourselves proud in both games that we’ve played. Unfortunately, it was out of our hands and maybe we let ourselves down earlier on in the competition.

“But we’ll keep working hard, we’ll keep coming back stronger, and I’m excited to see what this team is about.”

Millie Turner is relishing being in the England fold again after a call-up she says was “quite unexpected”.

Manchester United defender Turner, whose previous Lionesses involvement came as part of a training camp in 2020 under Phil Neville, was called up by Sarina Wiegman last week as a replacement for the injured Millie Bright.

While it came as quite a surprise to the 27-year-old, it is something she says her father had told her he had “had a feeling” about.

Regarding the phone call she received from Wiegman, Turner told a press conference: “It was very exciting, and quite unexpected, to be fair.

“I remember I was sat at home and she rang me and I just tried to play it quite cool when she told me that she was calling me up, but after the phone call ended I was so buzzing.

“I rang my family, rang my Dad, and he said he was just so proud of me. It was a big moment for me and my family.

“I think my neighbours at the start were hating me because I was jumping around my house! But my Dad, I just remember him saying ‘Mill, I’m so proud of you’, and he said he had a feeling to be honest that I’d get called into this camp, so I think he’s been talking it into reality.

“For me, it’s all I’ve ever dreamed of, all I’ve ever hoped of – it’s just been such a big ambition for me to play for my country.”

Turner now has the possibility of making her senior international debut at Wembley.

England face the Netherlands at the national stadium on Friday in the first of their final two Nations League group games, with a clash against Scotland at Hampden Park following four days later.

Wilmslow-born Turner, who said she has around six family members coming down for the game on Friday, added: “(To make England bow at Wembley) would be incredibly special.

“Just to be part of this team is such a great honour and to be able to put that shirt on and even to play at Wembley would be incredible.”

European champions and World Cup runners-up England, third in Nations League Group A1, must beat leaders the Netherlands to stay in contention for top spot, the final position they need to have a chance to secure Paris 2024 Olympics qualification for Great Britain.

Turner said: “I think it’s going to be a massive game. But the Lionesses, we’re incredible, the way we have performed and come over every single barrier and come out of it really strongly. I think it’ll be a very good game to watch.

“The mentality never changes. We all fight and want to give absolutely everything that we can for our country – and I think it’s quite a good position to be in, because we’re ready to fight and ready to put on a performance.”

England manager Sarina Wiegman believes Beth Mead has “shown enough” to earn her recall to the squad for the Lionesses’ final Nations League fixtures.

It is a welcome return to the international fold for the 28-year-old Arsenal forward, who resumed club action last month after suffering an ACL injury last November and has now earned an England call-up for the first time in over a year.

Tottenham midfielder Grace Clinton and Manchester City goalkeeper Khiara Keating retain their places in the Lionesses’ 23-player squad, having received their first senior call-ups in October.

England play their final two games of the year, starting with the Netherlands at Wembley on December 1 before facing Scotland at Hampden Park four days later and Wiegman is delighted to have Mead’s experience for those games.

“It’s really nice, she’s played minutes, she’s in a good place and still building too, but that was a very nice phone call, she was very happy,” Wiegman told a press conference.

“We’ve had conversations all the time, we had conversations before September camp and during and in October too because she was already fully training and getting some minutes but I just wanted to see a little more and that’s what we’ve seen now.

“Her health is really good so she can just go and she’s showed of course in games that she’s in a good place and we want her to keep growing and improving.

“She’s shown enough to me and for my technical staff to bring her in.

“She is a character that brings positive energy off the pitch and on the pitch and it’s good to have her back. Her experience, the way she plays, she’s different than other players on the wing, she brings different things so that’s good we have different opportunities again. Off pitch gives us some extra energy.”

England are currently third in Group A1 of the Nations League following a disappointing 3-2 loss to Belgium last month, their second defeat in four group matches.

Plenty is at stake in the competition as the winners of League A will reach the finals, which act as Europe’s 2024 Olympic qualifiers, meaning that hopes of a qualification spot in Paris are in danger for Team GB.

With two games remaining to try and turn things around, Wiegman insists England’s preparations will remain the same and has called on her side to be “more ruthless” in the final third.

“I think the Belgium game, the difference of us to them was so big,” she said.

“That last result was not a reflection of how we were in camp. Yes we’re in a situation where we absolutely need wins, we know that, we’re aware of that.

“When we go into a camp we want to win games. We haven’t done that lately in all our games and that’s what we want to do.

“Our approach will not all of a sudden change, we just review our last game, we prepare for the Netherlands first and the process we do will not be a lot different because I think we still do good things, we have to do better in moments of the game.

“In the final third we create a lot of chances but have to be more ruthless and we have to be aware of the counter-attack, be better and tighter on the ball.”

Wiegman also took time to congratulate Chelsea manager Emma Hayes on her appointment as new head coach of the United States women’s team, a role she will take up at the end of the season.

“She’s done a tremendous job, incredible results she’s had over a decade,” Wiegman added.

“I think for her it’s good to move on and I congratulated her of course with the new job, it’s very exciting for her. For her it’s really good and overall in the bigger picture it’s good for the women’s game too.”

Beth Mead has been recalled to the England squad for the first time in over a year ahead of the Lionesses’ final Nations League fixtures.

It is a welcome return to the international fold for the 28-year-old Arsenal forward, who resumed club action last month after suffering an ACL injury last November.

England face the Netherlands at Wembley on December 1 before taking on Scotland at Hampden Park four days later.

Tottenham midfielder Grace Clinton and Manchester City goalkeeper Khiara Keating also retain their places, having received their first senior call-ups in October.

Stale Solbakken admits it was a “big blow” to lose Erling Haaland for Sunday’s dead-rubber Euro 2024 qualifier against Scotland at Hampden – but the Norway manager is confident the Manchester City striker’s injury is not a serious one.

The free-scoring forward withdrew from the squad on Saturday morning after damaging his ankle in the second-half of Thursday’s 2-0 friendly win over Faroe Islands.

“It’s a big blow for any team but we have played without him before, sometimes with success, sometimes without,” said Solbakken, speaking at Hampden on Saturday evening.

“We started the qualification when he was not ready for the first two games, but after that he has played every single game so it was unfortunate for us that he got the small knock on Thursday.

“It’s the movement in his foot that is the problem but it’s not a serious injury. Had it been a final, I don’t know (if he would have been fit to play).

“All parties agree it is probably a little too early (for him to play) but it is not a career-threatening injury.”

When asked why Haaland – a talisman for club and country – was risked in such a low-key match, Solbakken said: “It was his choice. He wanted to play 45 minutes to keep the momentum in a week where we were maybe not training as much. It was his decision.

“There were three players who have played many games and we had conversations with all three of them and Erling’s much preferred choice was to play 45 minutes.”

Many anticipated Sunday’s match being a qualification decider but Scotland’s 2-1 win in Oslo in June, when they scored two goals in the closing minutes to overturn Haaland’s penalty, has proved pivotal.

The Scots are already assured of a place in the finals in Germany and are six points ahead of third-placed Norway, who have only a slim chance of landing a play-off if results elsewhere go their way.

“It was probably the sorest defeat you will ever feel,” said Solbakken, recalling Scotland’s late turnaround in the summer. “I still wake up at night thinking about those last five minutes but that is life.

“If you look back now, those five minutes were very, very damaging. Otherwise the game tomorrow would have been a final. That speaks volumes.

“But we must congratulate Scotland on a great campaign. They have done really, really well, not only in this campaign but also in the years before that.

“They’ve played at a very high level and have also been good at bringing the margins on their side in tight games, which is very important in national football when there are so few games.”

Unless they manage to salvage a Euro 2024 place via a play-off, Norway’s run without major tournament football will extend to 26 years. The Scots ended a 23-year wait when they qualified for the Euros in 2021 and Solbakken feels his nation can draw inspiration from Steve Clarke’s resurgent side.

“Of course we can,” he said. “I think we are quite even. We always play very tight games against each other but they have been better than us with the small margins lately. We need to see if we can find that way too.”