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The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France is underway with Scotland’s first match against England available to watch on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer now. It became the UK’s most watched women’s football match of all time with 6.1m viewers tuning in.

Scotland’s next match will be against Japan on Friday 14 June, coverage beginning at 13:30 with a 14:00 kick-off, on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ ALBA.

• ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ coverage times for all World Cup fixtures

New to the Scotland women’s football team? Here are some key questions answered:

Have Scotland qualified for the Women’s World Cup before?

No. This is the first time.

How did Scotland qualify?

National teams vie for 23 slots in a three-year qualification phase. Scotland came top of their group, Group 2, which included Switzerland, Poland, Belarus and Albania.

When did the Women’s World Cup first begin?

The competition has been held every four years since 1991.

Which countries have won in the past?

Current champions the United States have won three times. Germany has won twice, Japan and Norway once each.

Which group are Scotland in?

Group D. They’re up against England, Argentina and Japan.

Which players have been picked for the World Cup Squad?

Here are full details of Shelley Kerr's Scotland squad for France

Can the Scottish women's football team win the world cup?

There are at least three reasons why some people think the answer is yes.

Shelley Kerr
The Scotland team’s head coach, Shelley Kerr, is “a tough cookie” and has led the Arsenal squad to victory in the Women’s FA Cup two years in a row. Manager of Arsenal ladies, she left school with no qualifications and became a factory worker. She was the first woman to coach a men’s team at the senior level in the UK.

Times are changing
The Scotland women’s football team have reason to celebrate already. They qualified for the World Cup in September 2018 — the last Scotland side to reach the final stages was over 20 years ago.

Resilience
According to an interview with FIFA, Shelley Kerr said: “The players have been tested every step of the way, and each time they’ve responded brilliantly. We’ve had some bereavements to deal with along the way and, of course, we’ve often gone behind in matches and had to fight back.” Out of seven victories to get to France 2019, four were secured after Scotland had fallen behind.

Where can I watch Scotland in the Women's World Cup?

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Sport has live coverage of every World Cup match across TV, radio, the Red Button and online from the group stages all the way through to the final.