Martinez Losa Expresses Regret Over Scotland’s European Championship Qualification Failure

Pedro Martinez Losa emphasized that Scotland “must stick together” after their “regretful” failure to secure qualification for next summer’s European Championships. The Scottish side suffered a 2-0 loss to Finland, which means they will now watch a third consecutive major tournament from home. Nevertheless, the Spaniard maintained that the squad “deserved” to be there, although he acknowledged they could “always do more.” The head coach stated, “We started the game in difficult conditions. After the goals I thought we dominated the opponent, created enough changes to score but football is like that. We had a shot that hit the post, a potential penalty but the girls fought until the end.” He added, “This is an opportunity for the players to lead each other through a difficult moment.” Martinez Losa also commented, “I don’t know how you can teach the players to play on a frozen pitch. They are used to playing in these conditions, especially in the first minutes. It caused a couple of adjustments for us. You always can do more.” Regarding the outcome, he remarked, “There are regrets because we wanted to qualify, so the biggest regret is the outcome. We needed to win more games or get more goals than Finland and we didn’t do it.” He further noted, “I need to analyse the game and analyse myself, now though I will prepare the team in the same way.” Concluding his remarks, Martinez Losa said, “The immediate future, as we discussed in the dressing room, is to stick together. We wanted to enjoy the tournament together but it is also an opportunity for the players to inspire.”