Pedro Martinez Losa believes his Scotland side can beat Belgium and “put England in difficulties” in their final two Women’s Nations League games.
Scotland sit bottom of Group A with one point and must win both matches to have a chance of avoiding relegation at the end of the inaugural competition.
They drew with Belgium at home in September after a 2-1 loss in England.
“We know we can compete against Belgium – we know we can beat Belgium,” Scotland’s head coach said.
“We also see they are a very practical team and are getting results against big teams. After that, we have that special scenario of what it means to play at Hampden against England and I’m pretty sure we will have the support of the crowd and that will be a plus.
“Hopefully we are still alive in the competition and I’m pretty confident we can put England in difficulties.”
Scotland travel to face Belgium on Friday, 1 December before hosting England at Hampden four days later.
The Scots have one point, with England on six and Belgium on seven, after suffering back-to-back defeats by group leaders Netherlands in their most recent games.
However, Martinez Losa’s squad is bolstered by the return from injury of Bayern Munich midfielder Sam Kerr along with London City Lionesses defender Emma Mukandi, Bristol City striker Abi Harrison and Rangers forward Brogan Hay.
The head coach says his players “broke a barrier” of confidence with their improved second-half display in their narrow defeat by England, who could arrive at Hampden needing to win in order to qualify Great Britain for next year’s Olympics.
Martinez Losa does not think relegation from the Nations League top tier would be a massive blow to that confidence, pointing out his side had gone into the competition unbeaten in seven games.
Although “challenging”, he pointed out that reaching their target of two group wins was still possible as they felt their performances so far merited more than a single draw.
Martinez Losa also noted that only Portugal, with three points, have more points from among the fourth seeds in each group, with Switzerland and Wales yet to get off the mark.
Meanwhile, dropping out of the Scotland squad this time are uncapped Rangers defender Kathryn Hill, clubmate striker Kirsty Howat and Celtic midfielder Jenny Smith, while Chelsea Cornett, the Rangers midfielder who was a late addition last time, is also not included.
Scotland are still without two key midfielders – Real Madrid’s Caroline Weir and Manchester United’s Emma Watson – through long-term injury.
Scotland squad
Goalkeepers: Jenna Fife (Rangers), Lee Gibson (Glasgow City), Sandy MacIver (Manchester City).
Defenders: Jenna Clark (Liverpool), Rachel Corsie (Aston Villa), Nicola Docherty (Rangers), Sophie Howard (Leicester City), Rachel McLauchlan (Rangers), Emma Mukandi (London City Lionesses).
Midfielders: Erin Cuthbert (Chelsea), Lauren Davidson (Glasgow City), Claire Emslie (Angel City), Lisa Evans (West Ham United), Christy Grimshaw (AC Milan), Sam Kerr (Bayern Frauen), Kirsty MacLean (Rangers), Jamie-Lee Napier (Bristol City), Amy Rodgers (Bristol City).
Forwards: Fiona Brown (Rosengard), Amy Gallacher (Celtic), Kirsty Hanson (Aston Villa), Abi Harrison (Bristol City), Brogan Hay (Rangers), Martha Thomas (Tottenham Hotspur).
