Everton Women News Recap: Toffees in action at European Qualifying

European Qualifiers

Despite failing to qualify for the final tournament, set to be held in the summer of 2022, both Claire Emslie and Lucy Graham played in Scotland’s matches against Cyprus and Portugal. Against Cyprus — a 10–0 drubbing — Graham played the first 45 in central midfield, while Emslie was a second-half substitute and scored a 65th-minute goal. Against Portugal, both played the full ninety as the team dropped its last qualifying fixture, 1–0. The Scots finished Group E in third place with four wins and four losses. With such a talented roster, missing out on the European Championship is a massive letdown.

Elsewhere in Group E, Finland defeated Portugal 1–0 and Cyprus 5–0, with Everton goalkeeper Tinja-Riikka Korpela starting both games and earning her 94th and 95th caps, respectively. As she approaches the century mark, the 34-year-old was vital to her team’s 7–1–0 record that saw the Finns win their group outright and qualify for the final tournament. In eight matches, Korpela kept six clean sheets and only conceded twice.

Lionesses Making History

Two Toffees were honored as England defeated Northern Ireland 6–0 in a friendly held on February 23rd. Jill Scott — who played the full 90 — became just the second player in England Women’s National Team history to earn 150 international caps. She was first capped by England in August of 2006, and 15 years later, she finally hit the 150 mark for her country. The 34-year-old also captained her side against Northern Ireland. A huge congratulations to you, Jill Scott!

On the other end of the spectrum was goalkeeper Sandy MacIver, who earned her first cap for the national team when she made a substitution appearance in the 61st minute. In a congested goalkeeper pool, MacIver is competing with Ellie Roebuck and Hannah Hampton for the starting spot, so it was wonderful to see the 22-year-old get her first minutes with the national team.