LEICESTER City central defender Sophie Howard got the better of her old flatmate and friend Nicole Billa when Scotland beat Austria 1-0 at Hampden on Thursday night. The Hoffenheim striker barely got a sight of goal and was substituted with seven minutes of normal time remaining.
Abi Harrison’s header two minutes into extra time has set up a second round World Cup play-off against the Republic of Ireland at the national stadium on Tuesday. Billa, and Austria, returned home yesterday having failed in their bid to qualify for the tournament for a first time.
Howard, who was born and raised in Germany, signed for Bundesliga club Hoffenheim in 2015, the same year as Billa. They shared accommodation for three years until the central defender signed for WSL club Reading three years later.
“We’re still good friends,” Howard, who had her best game in a Scotland jersey, said. “It’s just how it is in football – she stayed at Hoffenheim and I moved to England.
“We stay in touch occasionally, but then when we meet up again it’s like nothing’s changed. I had a little chat with her after the game. Obviously she’s devastated so I’m not going to get a lot out of her. I’m not going to lie, it played into our hands when she got subbed. She’s been the Bundesliga top scorer in previous years. She’s a typical box striker so I don’t give her any time there. We were happy when she came off.”
Howard played twice for the German under-20 side, but qualifies for Scotland through a grandmother and was recruited by Anna Signeul when she was head coach in 2017. The 29-year-old played an unwanted cameo role in the final World Cup group match against Argentina in Paris two years later, and so has plenty of motivation for wanting to experience another tournament in Australia and New Zealand next summer.
The defender was sent on as a late substitute by Shelley Kerr when Scotland, who had led 3-0 with just 16 minutes remaining, were hanging on at 3-2. She almost immediately conceded a penalty, and although Lee Gibson saved Florencia Bonsegundo’s first attempt she was adjudged by VAR to have moved off her line and the Argentine did better with her second effort to tie the score at 3-3.
That eliminated both nations when a win would have taken Scotland through to an historic last-16 match against Howard’s native Germany in Grenoble.
The defender, who was devastated by the turn of events, admitted: “It took me a long time to get over it, but I had people around me helping me get back on my feet.
“So yes, I’m very determined for us to qualify again, especially with this group of players. That would make it very special. We’re ready to go on Tuesday to make it happen.
“We obviously know a lot of their players from playing against them in the WSL. It will be about who wins most second balls – that’s what it was about against Austria and our midfield did that fantastically.”
