Scotland boss Melissa Andreatta hails ‘legend’ Rachel Corsie ahead of retirement

Scotland Women’s head coach Melissa Andreatta hailed “legend” Rachel Corsie as the captain gets set to bring her career to an end next week.

The 35-year-old will retire from football after the final two Nations League A games against Austria at Hampden Park on Friday and the Netherlands next Tuesday.

Corsie, capped 154 times since making her debut against France in 2009 and who played at Euro 2017 and the 2019 World Cup, has been sidelined for the majority of the season with injury and will bow out after this international double-header.

The decision was not a surprise for Andreatta, who will be in the technical area for the first time as Scotland boss on Friday night.

“We had been talking,” she said. “Rachel Corsie – what a legend.

“And it’s been super-humbling to work with her in these past few days.

“And the professionalism of Rachel is what’s really stood out and her willingness to share her experiences with both players and staff.

“And I think she’s had a really positive impact on the group, on her return to camp and all she’s focussed on is her role and what the team needs to do to play the way we want to play.”

Andreatta, whose most recent role was assistant head coach of the Matildas, believes there are players in the squad who can take over Corsie’s mantle.

She said: “I think what we’ve seen in the last little while is, in Rachel’s absence, people have had to step up, and there’s actually been a lot of support around the leadership group to do that.

“And in their own right, they are leaders at clubs.

“So they’ve had a lot of opportunity to lead both at club and country and I think that transition has been occurring naturally,.

“But of course, everyone, no matter their position within the squad, is excited to have Rachel back.”

The Scots are bottom of Group A1, with four defeats in four matches and could be relegated on Friday against Austria, who are three points better off with two fixtures remaining.

Andreatta insists preventing the drop to League B is possible, saying, “we believe we can do that” as she looked for an encouraging performance on Friday night.

She said: “I only see opportunity and, yes, there’s going to be tough times, and yes, there’s a lot of progress to be made, but we believe in what we have.

“We believe we have what it takes, and we’re going to fight.

“What I’ve learnt about this group, it (results) hasn’t affected their belief.

“They believe in here (heart) that they can do something, and it’s just putting all the pieces together in order for us to match that belief with the performance and the results.”