Emma Watson is a 17-year-old who already seems at home on the international stage… the Scotland wonderkid is ready for the challenge of facing England on Friday night

There was little to cheer about as Scotland prepared for friendlies against Australia and Costa Rica in April.

Their defeat to the Republic of Ireland last October meant they failed to qualify for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. It was a bitter blow as they had also missed out on participating in Euro 2022.

There seemed to be waning optimism surrounding a side that was underperforming and in conflict with the Scottish Football Association over equal pay and treatment.

Enter 17-year-old Emma Watson. There had been some talk about this young midfielder making appearances for Rangers in the Scottish Women’s Premier League, but few expected her to be included in Scotland’s senior squad. Let alone the starting XI for both matches in April.

Watson’s debut against Australia was, as manager Pedro Martinez Losa described, excellent. But it was her second match, against Costa Rica at Hampden Park, that really made people sit up and take notice.

The former Rangers player (left) received her international call-up in April and scored on her debut

Within six minutes she had put Scotland ahead with a close-range volley. With Losa’s side leading 3–1 in the second half, Watson fired a long-range strike to cap a memorable evening.

To put the teenager’s meteoric rise into context, she would sit for her higher studies in PE, English, Maths and Biology two weeks later.

There would be little time to dwell on her achievements for Scotland and Rangers as a summer move to Manchester United was completed in August.

On Friday night, with Chelsea’s Erin Cuthbert ruled out through injury, Watson was able to start Scotland’s Nations League opener against England in front of a sold-out Stadium of Light in Sunderland. Not that she will be in any way upset by the occasion.

“I think I’m just doing it all my way and taking every opportunity I get,” Watson said at a recent Women’s Super League (WSL) promotion day. ‘It was a bit surreal getting my debut in Scotland and having to do my exams in the following weeks, but that was exactly what had to happen. It keeps me humble and grounded.

“I think I learned a lot from that game and that camp and it gave me a lot of belief in myself that I can play at that level.”

Edinburgh-born Watson played for Boroughmuir Thistle before joining Rangers’ academy at the age of 11. After school she would make the trip to Glasgow three nights a week to train at the club’s elite performance centre.

She was a student of Broughton High School, one of seven Scottish FA Performance Schools designed to provide extra football training to some of the country’s most talented boys and girls.

Scotland has no shortage of talented midfielders; Kim Little, Caroline Weir and Cuthbert have all come through the ranks over the years.

But there’s something about Watson, who already seems at home on the international stage, that makes her stand out.

“She is so eager to learn,” Real Madrid midfielder Weir noted when asked about the youngster in April.

“She is keen to talk to me and other midfielders and she has a great attitude and her talent is clear, you can see it there. She’s actually very physical for her age, she locks in, which I’m impressed with, and technically she’s good too.”

In many ways, Watson has similar qualities to Cuthbert: strength, skill, vision.

While Cuthbert is more of a box-to-box player, Watson is someone who can carry the ball, the type of midfielder that everyone wants but is hard to find.

That’s why Manchester United acted so quickly to lure her away from Rangers this summer.

“From an early age it was my ambition to become a professional footballer and it’s great to realize that dream every day,” said Watson.

Watson moved to Manchester this summer and is keen to make her mark in the WSL

England will no doubt be drawing up plans to contain Watson on Friday evening

“Coming from Rangers, they are one of the best teams in Scotland, and then coming to a club like Manchester United is a huge step. Of course I’m still young and I still want to learn.

‘I still have so much to learn and develop. This season I just want to make my mark in the WSL and prove that I’m good enough to be here.”

Manchester United’s decision to keep the youngster in the first-team squad, rather than sending her out on loan, speaks volumes about her talent and abilities.

An appearance against World Cup finalists England on Friday night would undoubtedly be the biggest game of her career, but if the past six months have shown us anything, it’s that Watson is more than up to the challenge and feels at home in it to feel. type of company.