Redding’s Nicola Docherty looks back on her incredible World Cup experience

From the joy of going three up against Argentina to the despair of being pegged back to 3-2 and conceding a stoppage-time penalty.

From the soaring high of seeing it saved by Lee Alexander to the crushing low of being knocked out by the South Americans converting the cruelly-imposed retake.

Even by Scottish football standards it was a heartbreaker, one the 26-year-old from Redding finds difficult to talk about almost two weeks after.

But, despite the way the tournament ended, it was an experience the Glasgow City defender wouldn’t have swapped.

She said: “It one of the most incredible experiences I think I’ll ever have. To play for your country is a huge honour but to do it on a world stage – I don’t think it can get much better than that.

“Obviously, we were disappointed the way it all turned out in the end. It was the biggest rollercoaster I’ve ever had in my life – and I hate the shows. To go up 3-0, your emotions are all over the place and you’re thinking ‘wow, we’re actually going to go through here’ but then more decisions happen and they scored, and you’re thinking ‘what do we do now’?

“Even now, I find it hard to talk about because we were so close.”

The tournament as a whole had plenty of ups and downs for Nicola. After getting the selection nod for the opener with England, she endured a difficult afternoon, being on the wrong end of another VAR penalty decision which gave England an early lead, booked and then substituted.

She was then left out of the second game against Japan before being restored to the line-up for the decisive group match with Argentina in the Parc des Princes.

She said: “I had a very tough game in the first 45 minutes (against England), dealing with Lucy Bronze and Nikita Paris, and Shelley (Kerr) said she wanted to freshen things up a bit but that I wasn’t dropped, and she made other changes as well.

“Of course. you’re disappointed not to start. But even to be selected for the World Cup was my dream and to start against England, I couldn’t be too disappointed and I started the third game, which boosted my confidence again.”

The challenge now for Nicola and the rest of the Scots is to build on the World Cup interest and support which has been generated.

Nicola said: “The fans were unbelievable. That was the highlight for me. The atmosphere they created in the stadium made it an unforgettable experience, especially the last game with 28,000 there.

“We were conscious of the impact we were having. Even just by going on holiday, I was getting noticed at the airport and that’s something which just doesn’t happen if you play in Scotland.

“As a kid, you grow up thinking ‘I want to play at a World Cup’ but you never think it’s quite possible. But now Scotland have done that and shown that, if you keep believing in your dreams, it is possible.

“We wanted to inspire a generation of girls coming up. I think we did that pretty well.”