Scotland’s Claire Emslie on motherhood and World Cup dreams

With Jamie arriving ahead of schedule, Emsley says she and her husband weren’t quite ready for parenthood.

“No, but we’re glad it happened because I didn’t have to think too much about it,” he said. “It was just, ‘OK, here we go’.

“Until we got to the hospital and they said we were going to have surgery in an hour we were in a panic. But that didn’t last long because within an hour he was out and we were mum and dad.

“We were expecting him on December 27. I was just thinking, ‘Please don’t come on Christmas’. Then he came two weeks ago and we were buzzing.”

Despite her quick return to competitive action, Emsley said her recovery after giving birth via caesarean section required patience.

“After three weeks, I started with pelvic floor physio,” she said. “My main recovery was getting my abs back together. Everything else was intact and it was just getting the abs back together and giving my body time to recover.

“After three weeks I started mobility work and slowly progressed from there. The support I had in Angel City was great and it shows what is possible with that support and willingness to give back.”

After returning to the Scotland squad, Emslie’s focus is now firmly on helping his country reach next year’s tournament in Brazil.

“It’s not good,” he said. “As a footballer, playing for Scotland is the best thing. Going to the World Cup couldn’t be better.

“And to do it in Brazil, the country of football, would be incredible.”