By Canadian Press on April 9, 2025.
EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — Melissa Andreatta has left her role as assistant manager of Australia’s women’s national team to take over as head coach of Scotland Women. The Scottish Football Association announced the hiring of Andreatta on Wednesday, saying she is expected to take over in time for Scotland’s Nations League match late May against Austria — subject to securing a visa. A former head coach of Brisbane Roar’s women’s team, Andreatta has been with Football Australia since 2016 — firstly in its technical department and then with the under-17s and under-23s before assisting the Matildas. She is leaving her job with Australia even though there is currently no permanent head coach in place following the departure of Tony Gustavsson after last year’s Olympic Games in Paris, where the team was eliminated in the group stage. Scotland-born Tom Sermanni has been interim head coach of the Matildas since Gustavsson’s departure. Andreatta said “the future is definitely bright” in the Scotland team. “And with my extensive coaching, talent development and major tournament experience, my aim is to support the players and staff to reach their fullest potential,” she said. “The ambition is to get Scotland back to consistent qualification and with the squad in a period of transition, this is the perfect opportunity to start building towards that future.” Scotland has only appeared once at a Women’s World Cup — in 2019. Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell said his final shortlist contained candidates from three different continents. “Melissa provided a breadth of different experiences at all levels of the women’s game in Australia,” Maxwell said. “She is a valued member of the Matildas’ coaching staff but also has responsibility for developing elite youth players within a respected performance system.” ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer The Associated Press 15