Martinez Losa Affirms Commitment as Scotland Coach Following Euro 2025 Miss

Pedro Martinez Losa has stated he finds “no reason not to continue” in his role as Scotland head coach, despite the team’s inability to qualify for the Euro 2025 finals next year. The coach also remarked, “‘I’m committed to this group'”. This 2-0 play-off final defeat by Finland marks the second time the 48-year-old Spaniard has overseen an unsuccessful qualification campaign for a major tournament. His contract was extended last September, securing his position until 2027. Martinez Losa conveyed to BBC Alba, “It’s not for me to say if I am the right man or not. What the future brings is not in my control. I signed a contract, I have a commitment to the staff and the players, there’s no reason not to continue.” He further added, “I need to analyse the game and analyse myself. Now, though, I am committed to this group and committed to the development of the players.” However, Martinez Losa asserts that women’s football in Scotland “needs support, more professionalism and fans, for the league to have higher standards, for the players to be professional and be in better conditions.” Finland, who had maintained an unbeaten home record since their loss to the Scots 18 months prior, scored two goals in the first half of the second leg, thereby preventing Martinez Losa’s side from progressing. “They have a good record of winning games here and two big moments in the game cost us,” he commented. “I thought after that the team played excellently. After the goals, I thought we dominated the opponent, created enough changes to score, but football is like that. It’s frustrating and it’s painful and it’s going to be painful for a long time.” Martinez Losa believed Scotland should have been awarded a penalty kick when Erin Cuthbert flicked the ball up, and the visiting team contended it struck a defender’s hand. He elaborated, “I respect the referee and the video assistant referee (VAR), but I think we should have had a penalty. I think one goal would have changed the game.” Martinez Losa concluded, “Life sometimes is not fair and these players have been fighting for a long time to inspire the nation and take the team to a major tournament. We feel we’re on the borderline.” Scotland captain Caroline Weir expressed her belief that her team had exerted maximum effort to advance. The Real Madrid midfielder stated, “This game came down to a couple of moments that weren’t in our favour. The team couldn’t have done much more. Unfortunately, we’ve not done enough – it’s a really tough one to take.” Weir added, “It’s really hard to digest at the moment. We’ve worked so hard in the last couple of years to be in this position and unfortunately we couldn’t take that final step.”