Northern Ireland face Scotland as they build up to World Cup qualifiers

Northern Ireland women in training for Scotland fixture
Author: Nigel GouldPublished 10th Jun 2021

Northern Ireland's senior women team take on Scotland tonight (Thursday) in a friendly at Seaview in front of 500 fans.

Having already made history by reaching next summer's Euros finals for the first time ever, Kenny Shiels' side are also preparing for World Cup qualifiers in September.

Northern Ireland senior women in training

He sees tonight's game as an important part of Northern Ireland's development.

They are facing a Scotland side that missed out on a place in the Euros finals and they will have something to prove in Belfast later.

They are also 25 places ahead of Northern Ireland in the world rankings - so will present a tough challenge.

Midfielder Lauren Wade (pictured below) said that while it was a friendly game, they would be going all out to win.

Lauren Wade

"We treat every single game the same," she said. "We talk about friendlies but this is a competitive fixture and one we are preparing for as if it was a qualifier."

Shiels said this was all about developing the squad and preparing them for the World Cup and the Euros.

"I am confident if we can take the next step and we can make progress whether from a win, defeat or draw," he said.

"The important thing is that they make progress."

The game kicks off tonight at 7.