I WON’T WALK AWAY: Martinez Losa defiant despite seeing Scots’ Euros dream die in limp play-off defeat in Helsinki

Scotland boss Pedro Martinez Losa last night insisted he won’t walk away from the job despite presiding over a second consecutive failure to qualify for a major finals.

Finland reached Euro 2025 at his team’s expense with a 2-0 play-off victory in Helsinki, with the national side now having missed out on three successive tournaments — the last two under the Spaniard’s command.

Complaining that the Scots were not awarded a penalty for handball on the cusp of half-time — when his team were already trailing to goals from Natalia Kuikka and Nea Lehtola — Martinez Losa could only watch in horror as his team flopped again after last Friday’s goalless first leg at Easter Road.

Asked if he could expect to carry on as manager, having already failed to take Scotland to the last World Cup, the head coach replied there was ‘no reason not to continue’.

‘I am committed to this group and committed to the development of the players,’ said Martinez Losa, who signed an extension to his contract in September last year.

‘What I can control is my commitment to the players — all the opinions and decisions, I don’t control them.

 

‘I signed a contract, I have a commitment to the staff and the players, there’s no reason not to continue.

‘It’s not for me to say if I am the right man or not [to lead Scotland]. It is not about the right man. It is about the whole group, it is about the right circumstances.

‘This is very painful just now for everyone. The players were devastated after the game but I believe they will stick together and they will earn the respect they deserve.

‘I think we deserved to get the reward we all craved, but life is not fair.’

Scotland demanded the penalty for handball after Erin Cuthbert’s shot was blocked inside the box by Ria Orling, their calls for a review by VAR ignored.

A spot-kick at that stage could arguably have altered the course of the game but, ultimately, the real failure came from Scotland’s pedestrian forward movement and their lack of any real menace in the final third.

Across two legs they enjoyed plenty of possession but could not score.

‘They (Finland) have a good record of winning games here and two big moments in the game cost us,’ said Martinez Losa.

‘I thought after that the team played excellently. If you score a goal, all of a sudden it can change.

‘I respect the referee and the VAR but I think we should have had a penalty. I think one goal would have changed the game.’

Martinez Losa insisted he was proud of the manner in which his side steadied themselves after finding themselves on the back foot so soon.

‘We always knew that the first goal was going to be important,’ he said. ‘In international football it is disappointing to concede a goal from 30 yards.

‘(Finland) had come out with intensity and they adapted better to the temperatures and the pitch. We needed time to adjust to that but I think that the players showed their character after losing an early goal.

‘We were a bit unfortunate with the second one but it came when we had been trying to get back into the game. Even until the end of the game, these players were still giving everything. It is so very painful for us to now be in this moment.’

Scotland and Real Madrid captain Caroline Weir said her prevailing feeling was pride in her team-mates despite the failure to get past Finland.

‘It is hard to digest at the moment,’ she said. ‘We wanted it really badly but unfortunately it wasn’t our night.

‘The team has worked so hard in the last few years to be in this position and then unfortunately we couldn’t take that final step.

‘The players gave everything. I am proud of the team and the staff. There is not much more we could have done. I think we did everything, 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.’