Czechia 0-2 Scotland FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifier Friday 9th October 2026 Stadion Arnošta Košťála, Pardubice

Scorers

Czechia (0) Scotland (2): Weir (57'), Emslie (64')

Team News

Melissa Andreatta names two changes from the side's most recent outing against Israel in June, seeing Claire Emslie and Chelsea Cornet dropped in favour of Amy Muir and Miri Taylor.

As It Happened

Scotland laid down their intent just two minutes into the first-half when Kathleen McGovern found space to work a shot at the Czech goal, but Barbora Votíková was on-hand to make a confident save. Czechia overturned their slow start to gradually begin putting the pressure on Scotland. Andrea Stasková was able to get a mild shot away on the edge of the box, but Sandy MacIver dived low to claim it. A corner from Kirsty MacLean looked to have dropped kindly for Caroline Weir on the edge of the box, but McGovern's goal-ward deflection from her shot was cleared calmly by the Czech defence. Miri Taylor turned saviour for Scotland on 23 minutes when Kirsty Hanson was caught short outside of the box, allowing Denisa Veselá to work a run in the box which was smothered well by the Aston Villa midfielder. Jenna Clark made a super block shortly after to deny Stasková once again. For the remainder of the half, Scotland largely struggled to cope with the Czech's left-wing pressure and that of Stasková in particular. Weir provided the main spark for Melissa Andreatta's side with a pair of efforts from outside of the box, however both shots sailed over enough to not trouble Votíková. Half Time: Czechia 0-0 Scotland

In the fashion of the first-half, the opening 10 minutes in the second saw little in the way of clear-cut chances for either side. Sandy MacIver had to be active after a few crosses came close to her net, but none of them really troubled her. From out of nowhere, Scotland finally found the killer blow 57 minutes in with a fantastic move from the midfield. Rachel McLauchlan sent a pinpoint ball to Kathleen McGovern in the Czech box, heading it back to who-else but Caroline Weir to flash a shot across goal and into the far-right corner of Votíková's net for 0-1. Melissa Andreatta made the first two substitutions of the night on 63 minutes, wanting a second goal. Kirsty MacLean and Kathleen McGovern made way for Claire Emslie and a welcome return for Erin Cuthbert- earning her first minutes since June. It didn't take long for Claire Emslie to justify her introduction as she put Scotland two-goals ahead within three minutes of her coming on. Lauren Davidson did exceptionally well in winning the ball in the centre and driving along the right wing, cutting a switched ball over to Emslie to curl a shot into the far corner for 0-2 with 64 minutes gone. Sandy MacIver was responsible for keeping Scotland's two-goal lead after the Czech substitute Franny Cerná hit an effort destined for the top-corner, but the Scotland #12 tipped it over brilliantly. MacIver then held onto the resulting header from Stasková to make sure of it. Chelsea Cornet and Martha Thomas were the next two rolls of Melissa Andreatta's dice in the 73rd minute, replacing Lauren Davidson and Miri Taylor. Cerná missed a gilt-edged chance to half the deficit for Czechia after Michaela Khyrová's ball found the substitute in the centre, but she headed wide of MacIver's goal from a free-header. It went from bad-to-worse for Jitka Klimková's side in the 85th minute when the VAR deemed Tereza Krejciríková's challenge on Clark to be a straight-red card offense. Sophie Howard was the final substitution of the night for Scotland, replacing Kirsty Hanson in the 88th minute. Scotland looked to have had a penalty in the 91st minute after Votíková seemingly brought down Thomas inside of the area, but the referee reverted her initial decision following an on-field review. Referee Hristiyana Guteva blew for full-time giving Scotland a priceless lead to take back to Paisley next Tuesday, where both sides will meet once more to seal a World Cup Finals qualifying tie against either Lithuania or Sweden. Full Time: Czechia 0-2 Scotland

Teams

Czechia: Votíková, Bendová, Polásková (Ruzicková 66'), Bartonová (Safárová 90+3'), Stasková (Zufánková 81'), Krejciríková, Cahynová (Kotrcová 81'), Khyrová, Polcarová, Dubcová, Veselá (Cerná 66') Unused Substitutes: Franková, Lukásová, Vithová, Pochmanová, Hlouchová, Subrtová, Dedinová

Scotland: MacIver, Docherty, Muir, Clark, MacLean (Cuthbert 63'), Weir, Hanson (Howard 88'), McGovern (Emslie 63'), McLauchlan, Taylor (Cornet 73'), Davidson (Thomas 73') Unused Substitutes: Alexander, Cumings, Gregory, Kerr, Howat, Grimshaw, Lawton Referee: Hristiyana Guteva