Weir plays 90 in Scotland’s 1-1 draw against Wales in the Pinatar Cup

Scotland played in their final game of the Pinatar Cup as they faced off against Wales for the final friendly of this international break. Scotland came into this game winning their game against China and losing their opener against Iceland.

Scotland started the game in their typical 4-2-3-1 with Real Madrid’s Caroline Weir operating as the attacking midfielder in a free role. Wales on the other hand were in a 4-3-3 which largely operated as a 4-3-1-2 with Jessica Fishlock playing as an auxiliary striker with a flat line of midfield three behind her.

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In the 8th minute, Scotland got the corner which Erin Cuthbert took and resulted in the opening goal when Sophie Howard attacked the ball at the far post and headed it in leaving her marker in the process. Scotland continued to pile on the pressure and created some more chances in the half.

Scotland utilized the wide areas really well for chance creation and funneled a lot of their possession on the right wing for crosses. Their high press resulted in a fair few turnovers and resulted in some deep completions. They registered eight shots compared to Wales’ singular attempt in the first half and saw more of the ball compared to their opposition.

Wales weren’t able to create much danger as they tried to force their way through the center of the pitch but were unable to do so to an effective measure. Fishlock was at the heart of making things happen for Wales.

The Welsh found a sudden burst of momentum around the 40th minute mark and capitalized on it in the 42nd minute with a goal by Ceri Holland after a delicious ball by Fishlock on the quick break. That was their only shot of the first half and they finished in one sweeping move. From this point on Wales had a complete momentum swing in their favor.

In the second half, Wales continued to play on the break and had some good early chances via cutbacks. Second half substitute, Rachel Rowe offered line-breaking from midfield giving them much needed penetration through the middle. Fishlock continued being influential on the game and had a very smart low freekick in the 81st minute be saved by the goalkeeper. Wales were the better side in the second half.

Caroline Weir had a decent outing. She wasn’t able to influence the game as much with her usual trickery on the ball but was key with her pressing up front. She closed down players quickly and her pressing angles were on point, forcing Wales to either go long or play it out for a turnover. She made her darting runs into the box as well, receiving and pushing the ball ahead of her in space to then take a shot. She operated from the half-spaces and had a good effort from range during the game which was dangerous.

With all of Scotland’s fixtures completed, Weir will now return back to Madrid and hopefully continue to deliver the magic that she has done so far in her time at Madrid. Her minutes were managed fairly well this window.