Being Scotland vice-captain 'great honour' - Cuthbert

ByElise Brand

BBC Sport Scotland

Scotland midfielder Erin Cuthbert says being given the role of vice-captain before the World Cup qualifying campaign is "a great honour" and something she never expected in her career.

Scotland started their challenge for a place at the 2027 Women's World Cup strongly after beating Luxembourg 5-0 on Tuesday night, where Cuthbert helped the squad to the win by registering two assists.

"We'd done everything that we wanted to in the game plan," said Cuthbert. "We pressed well, got on the front foot, counter-pressed and created a lot of chances."

Cuthbert earned her 83rd international cap in Luxembourg, and reflected on head coach Melissa Andreatta's decision to draw on that experience by naming her as the team's vice-captain alongside new captain Caroline Weir.

"Playing for your country, never mind representing and being one of the big leaders in the team, is a great honour and one that I'm really excited by," she said.

"Since I was a little girl, I wanted to play for Scotland, but never did I expect to play for Scotland 80-odd times as I have, and never mind being one of the leaders within the team.

"But I think my attitude's no different. Same as at club, being the vice-captain, I behave the same way whether I've got the armband or not, it doesn't really matter." said Cuthbert.

Andreatta has only been in charge of the national team for seven games but Cuthbert has been impressed by the Australian and says her positive effect is already being felt by the squad.

"The gaffer's a breath of fresh air, new energy, new focus," she said. "She's really instilled a real belief in us again that maybe we had missed in the last few years. But certainly I'm excited to play under her."

"It's a good atmosphere. It's a good mix between, you know, work and play."

Scotland last appeared at a major tournament in 2019 when they played at the Women's World Cup in France and are aiming to take another step towards a return to the finals by defeating Luxembourg at Hampden on Saturday night (17:00 GMT), a game live on BBC Alba.

As a veteran of the 2019 campaign, Cuthbert hopes that the past experiences of the team can help them prepare for their current challenge.

"Everybody knows what it means to get to a World Cup being a Scotland player," she said.

"But I think it's important not to dwell too much because we've had good campaigns, bad campaigns. We want to now focus forward.

"We've got a new group here, a new manager, but of course I think it's important to instil the highs and lows of a campaign."

Cuthbert knows that the qualities the squad have developed over their previous campaigns will be key if the side want to reach the finals in Brazil next year.

She said: "I think that's the important part, is the resilience that it's going to take over the course of a campaign to qualify."