With a group containing third ranked England and World Cup runners up Japan, the tie against Argentina was always going to present the best chance of getting a win, and thus the total of three points that could take Scotland through.<\/p>\n
Four of the six best placed third-placed sides progress and Scotland fans have been calculating whether a win tonight will do. The answer will not be clear tonight even if Scotland win.\u00a0Two one goal defeats and a one goal win could well be enough if results in Groups E and F produce just one more third-placed side with a worse record.<\/p>\n
No points but a goal difference of 2-4 is probably above what Kerr expected after playing England and Japan.<\/p>\n
Asked if she would have accepted that if it had been theoretically offered before the cup started, she was brutally honest:<\/p>\n
“100%. I think (in terms of) scenario planning not in a negative way but we probably planned to be in this situation.<\/p>\n
“We were hopeful that we would have taken something from the first two games but we always knew that it would probably come down to this last game against Argentina.<\/p>\n
“I think it\u2019s got the makings of a really good game because both teams need to win to put themselves in contention to go through to the last 16.<\/p>\n
“So it\u2019s got the making of a really, really tough game but an exciting one.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
She described the mood in the camp as “fantastic despite obviously two defeat against two top opponents.”<\/p>\n
She also told the media that she had received a call from Sir Alex Ferguson. With a glint in her eye, she declined to share the entire conversation with the press:<\/p>\n
“Well, everyone knows Sir Alex so I probably won\u2019t tell you everything because he did say that he was disappointed with some of the decisions that were made against us.<\/p>\n
“He was very complimentary about the team, the determination, the stamina, the togetherness in the team to finish so strongly in both games.<\/p>\n
“He\u2019s watched both of them, he sent us a message before we came here and it\u2019s absolutely brilliant for myself as a manager for him to contact me and also for the players for him to pass on his best wishes.<\/p>\n
“He\u2019s going to be tuning in tomorrow night so it\u2019s brilliant support from him an absolute legend.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Argentinians will be no pushovers. They have conceded just one goal in 180 minutes against the opponents who netted four against Scotland.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe captain has got such a great footballing brain, she\u2019s technically very good on the ball. The players have been well briefed on that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cEvery international team has players who can hurt you if you\u2019re not switched on. Although we\u2019re talking about our attacking threat, we need to be mindful defensively because so far in this tournament that\u2019s something we can improve on.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cIf we want to get a positive result we need to be switched on defensively and be aware of Argentina\u2019s best players.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Kerr has warned her players to stay realistic about how good they will have to be:<\/p>\n
“I think a lot of people have been caught up expecting Scotland to win in some ways that\u2019s good because it\u2019s a credit to the players and shows what people think of us as a team.<\/p>\n
“But in reality we have played two formidable teams so we have to be more attacking in this game against Argentina and I think we will have to at some point as well so it\u2019s something that we\u2019ve been good at across the campaign to get us here.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019ve no doubts that if our players are prepared well enough and bring their A-game then I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll be a positive result for us.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Kerr has to find the balance between asking her Scots to be as disciplined as they were in the first two games, but allow players like Kim Little and Erin Cuthbert to unleash their full creative potential:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhen you\u2019re playing against the very best teams sometimes if you open up too much it creates space for your opponents and leaves you chasing the game.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou\u2019ve got to have structure defensively, but in attack you can afford to be unstructured. That\u2019s what we need to do better. We need to obviously make sure that we can support in numbers in the final third.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we also need to create, we need to get more possession of the ball first and foremost. It can be difficult though when you\u2019re playing against some of the best players and teams in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cArgentina have had two amazing performances against tough opposition and have been very tough to break down. We know that might be similar tomorrow night but it\u2019s up to us to unlock the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the highest level, under pressure, the best players and best teams can make the decisions. That\u2019s what we hope the players can do tomorrow night.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Kick off is 8pm in Scotland and 9pm locally. We will be live tweeting from the Parc des Princes.<\/p>\n
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\n[column size=”1\/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”839″ heading=”Scotland Women” heading_type=”timeline” \/][\/column]
\n[column size=”1\/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”211″ heading=”Womens World Cup” heading_type=”timeline” \/][\/column]
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