Pedro Martinez Losa: Spaniard ‘committed’ to Scotland despite failure to reach Euro 2025
Finland, unbeaten at home since losing to Scotland 18 months ago, scored twice in the first half of the second leg to keep Manes Lothar’s side at bay.
“They have a good record of winning games here but two big moments in the game cost us,” he said. “I thought the team played really well after that.
“After the goal, I thought we dominated the opponent and created enough changes to score, but that’s football. It’s frustrating, it’s painful, and it’s going to be for a long time.”
Martinez Lothar felt Scotland should have been awarded a penalty when Erin Cuthbert bounced the ball up, with the visitors claiming the ball hit the defender’s hand.
“I respect the referee and the video assistant referee (VAR) but I think we deserved a penalty,” he added. “I think one goal changes the game.
“Life is unfair sometimes and these players have fought for a long time to inspire an entire country and lead teams to major tournaments. We feel like we’re on the edge.”
Scotland captain Caroline Weir believes her side have done their best to progress.
“The game had several moments that went against us,” the Real Madrid midfielder said.
“The team couldn’t have done more. Unfortunately, we didn’t do enough – and that’s really hard to accept.
“It’s really hard to digest right now. We’ve worked really hard over the past few years to get to this position and unfortunately we can’t take that final step.”
