Scotland hero leans into Ange Postecoglou mantra as ex-Hibs striker insists side will 'ignore the noise'

Scotland goal-hero Kathleen McGovern is convinced their major tournament drought is about to end, crediting head coach Melissa Andreatta for instilling an unbreakable belief that the team don’t know when they’re beaten.

McGovern, 24, bagged her team’s second goal as Scotland twice came from behind to beat Czechia 3-2 (5-2 on aggregate) at the Marbill Coaches Stadium on Tuesday night, setting up a Women’s World Cup playoff tie with Sweden next month, with Lauren Davidson and Christy Grimshaw also on target in the victory.

Ranked eighth in the world, Sweden will prove to be a major boulder as Scotland look to qualify for their first major tournament since 2019, but under Australian head coach Andreatta, McGovern believes the side have developed an identity that mirrors her fellow countryman Ange Postecoglou, who achieved major title success as manager of Celtic, and can upset the odds when they meet next month.

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Scotland will face Sweden next month in the Women's World Cup playoff second round. | SNS Group

“Buzzing, delighted to get the job done,” said McGovern. “It was a difficult game, probably expected it to go better than we had planned, but it just the nature of this team and the mindset that we don’t stop, we keep going. Going a goal behind, we showed resilience to come back and get us back in the game with Loz [Lauren Davidson].

“I felt like our distances were just a wee bit too far apart, and I think when we sorted that at half-time, you could see that went they started to go long we pick up the first and second balls. I think that’s where we won the game. Her [Andreatta’s] message was to keep going. The first game wasn’t easy either. We knew that they were physical and aggressive, and we tried to match that. In the second-half we did. We were brave, we put in tackles. That’s what I love to see.

“We had the belief. We have characters in that team that have been in places before that when you are down, you can come back. Mel shows that belief in us, and you can see that on the park. No matter the score, we keep going. We have leaders in the dressing room that pick us up when things aren’t going well.”

A major beneficiary of Andreatta’s appointment 18 months ago, the Newcastle United striker has enjoyed a remarkable rise in recent seasons, scoring 31 goals as Hibs won the Scottish Women’s Premier League for the first time in almost two decades in 2025. Handed her international debut by the self-proclaimed “Scossie” boss last June, McGovern has repaid that faith by scoring six goals in her first 12 caps.

“I love playing for my country,” admitted McGovern. “You can see that in my celebration at the end. I’ll do anything to score goals for this team. The crowd were excellent. They drove us on when things weren’t going well. You could still feel the energy, they were still singing and backing us. That really spurred us on tonight.

”We can absolutely do it [beat Sweden]. We have the players in that dressing room, world class players as well, and no matter the situation - we’ll be ready. We don’t focus on outside noise, we focus on ourselves. That’s what you see today. We keep going. That’s how it’ll always be, especially under Mel. She gives us that motivation, she’s so encouraging and it spurs us on.”