Scotland out in the cold after playoff defeat

Scotland face a bleak winter after their hopes of qualification for the European Championship in Switzerland next summer were extinguished in a frozen Helsinki.

- Louise Taylor

As an ultimately comfortable Finland celebrated a victory sealed in the second leg of this Euro 25 playoff the visiting manager, Pedro Martinez Losa, faced an uncertain future.

A country with players as talented as Real Madrid's Caroline Weir and Chelsea's Erin Cuthbert should be in the continental spotlight in July. Small wonder that as the clock ticked down and the mercury plummeted, a disconsolate, dejected Martinez Losa looked close to tears.

After qualifying for Euro 2017 and the 2019 World Cup, Scotland seem to have veered off track and their captain, Weir, knows it. "It's a tough one to take," she said. "The players have worked so hard but, unfortunately, we've not done enough."