Lucy Graham is hoping for Scotland to replicate their Pinatar Cup success of 2020 to prepare the nation for another FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
Graham was among the Scots who claimed the inaugural version of the competition and has outlined her desire to win the friendly tournament once more.
“I’m looking forward to it,” she told evertonfc.com.
“This tournament is an opportunity for us to look ahead and prepare for the World Cup qualifiers.
“We have to work together as a team and galvanise ourselves, so we are prepared for those matches in April.
“The only way to do that is to trial and experiment.
“This tournament is a perfect opportunity to do that and to get more minutes with the girls.
🏴 S Q U A D 🏴#SWNT | #PinatarCup pic.twitter.com/tuRHO4PFBk
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) February 16, 2022
“Even though this tournament is classed as ‘friendly’, there’s no such thing in my eyes, so we’ll be going out to win as many games as we can.”
Graham returned to the Everton squad last weekend after a spell on the sidelines.
And the 25-year-old hopes the next week can double as an opportunity to return to full fitness before returning to Merseyside.
“This international break is going to be a good fitness exercise for me personally after coming back from some time out of the game,” Graham added.
“There’s a big squad that’s travelled out to Spain, so I’m presuming there’s going to be a lot of rotation and opportunities for players.
“Hopefully, I can be given some minutes and continue to work on my match fitness.
“There’s no better feeling than putting on your national team’s jersey, especially when it’s in a warm country!”
First up for the Scots is Wales who they face on Wednesday at 2.30pm (GMT).
Graham was in the Scotland side that beat the Welsh in a friendly encounter last year.
The Toffees midfielder is anticipating another close encounter but is confident her team can get the job done.
“We played them in June last year and they gave us a tough game," added Graham.
“They’re well organised and can be a threat going forward.
“Hopefully, we can analyse what we did well in that 1-0 win and take it into Wednesday’s match.”
