There's no better time to tame the Lionesses as focus switches back to football

The inaugural women’s Nations League gives Scotland a chance to put the focus back on the football.

For Rachel Corsie and her teammates, the agreement reached with the Scottish FA over the long-term dispute over inequality finally puts to bed the off-field drama.

Although many questions remain over the substance of the agreement, it’s time to finally get back to the football.

The Nations League gives us all a chance to see where Scotland are against some of the top tier nations – none more so than the World Cup finalists, the Lionesses.

A sold-out Stadium of Light in Sunderland is the venue where Scotland get their campaign off and running against England.

Sarina Weigman’s side will of course be huge favourites, riding the crest of a wave after this summer’s World Cup.

And for captain Corsie she knows it’ll take a monumental effort to get off and running with a win.

“There is a real togetherness,” she said. “There has been a really good environment now for the last several camps where the players are all in it together. And that naturally cultivates belief.

“There is the rivalry for fans to build up. For the players, it’s a game we relish as we want to test ourselves to make sure we are in a good place.”

Scotland also find themselves up against the Netherlands and Belgium in Group A1.

Scotland will play all three countries home and away from September to December.

It is the same format as the men’s competition in that there will be promotion and relegation between the leagues, as well as qualification for the Women’s Nations League finals.

The Nations League also affects qualification for Euro 2025, which will be held in Switzerland.

The tournament presents the dark blues with a perfect platform to show the country that the squad is united and ready to go.

A win in the first game in any competition is huge, but after all the controversy surrounding the dispute with the SFA, there’s no better time to tame the Lionesses.