Emma Watson (footballer)
Emma Watson (born 28 January 2006) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Rangers of the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) and the Scotland national team.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 28 January 2006 | ||
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Rangers | ||
| Number | 28 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Boroughmuir Thistle | |||
| Rangers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021– | Rangers | 38 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019 | Scotland U15 | 2 | (1) |
| 2020 | Scotland U16 | 2 | (3) |
| 2022 | Scotland U17 | 4 | (1) |
| 2023– | Scotland | 2 | (2) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 May 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:30, 11 April 2023 (UTC) | |||
Club career
A pupil at Broughton High School, Edinburgh, Watson spent five years with Boroughmuir Thistle before joining the Rangers girls' academy.[2] She moved up to the Rangers first team at the age of 15, making her senior debut on 15 August 2021 as a 65th-minute substitute for Demi Vance in a 5–0 win over Motherwell in the 2021 Scottish Women's Premier League Cup.[3][4] She scored her first senior goal for the club in the same competition on 29 August 2021 in a 4–0 win over Boroughmuir Thistle.[5] She made 12 league appearances during the 2021–22 Scottish Women's Premier League season as Rangers claimed their first title.[6] She was nominated for the 2021–22 Youth Player of the Year at the Scottish Women's Football Awards but lost out to teammate Mia McAulay.[7] On 9 August 2022 she signed a professional contract with Rangers.[8][9]
Watson was named in a match squad in the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time on 18 August 2022 as an unused substitute in the first round semi-final against Ferencváros. She made her debut in the first round final against PAOK three days later where she came on as a 73rd-minute substitute. In the second round first leg against Benfica she made another appearance, coming on in the 70th minute. In the second leg, she again came off the bench after 57 minutes and scored with three minutes of normal time remaining to take the game to extra time. The Portuguese champions scored twice in extra time to progress to the group stages of the tournament.[10][11]
International career
Watson has represented Scotland at under-15, under-16, and under-17 levels.[12] She was called up to the Scotland senior team for the first time for a friendly double header against Australia and Costa Rica in April 2023.[13] She made her senior international debut on 7 April 2023 starting in a 1–0 win against Australia at Plough Lane, Wimbeldon.[14][15] Four days later, she scored two goals in a 4–0 win against Costa Rica at Hampden Park.[16][17]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 7 May 2023[1]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | League cup[lower-alpha 2] | Continental[lower-alpha 3] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rangers | 2021–22 | SWPL 1 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 17 | 2 | |
| 2022–23 | 26 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 35 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 38 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 52 | 8 | ||
- Includes the Scottish Women's Cup
- Includes the SWPL Cup
- Includes the UEFA Women's Champions League
International
- Statistics accurate as of match played 11 April 2023
| Scotland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2023 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 2 | 2 |
International goals
- Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Watson goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 April 2023 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | 2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly | [17] | |
| 2 | 4–0 |
Honours
Rangers
References
- "Scotland - E. Watson - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
- Dawson, Jack (11 April 2023). "Edinburgh teenager Emma Watson lights up Hampden Park with double for Scotland". Edinburgh News. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- "Match Report: Motherwell 0-5 Rangers". www.rangers.co.uk.
- @RangersWFC (15 August 2021). "Competitive first-team debut" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 October 2022 – via Twitter.
- "Report: Gers Defeat Boroughmuir Thistle On Cup Duty". www.rangers.co.uk.
- Heather Miller (8 May 2022). "Rangers Win Park's Motor Group SWPL 1 Title!". www.rangers.co.uk.
- "2021/22 MG ALBA SWF Annual Awards". scotwomensfootball.com. Scottisah Woman’s Football. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
Youth Player of the Year: Mia Scott of Glasgow City, Abbie Fearns of Celtic, Mia McAulay of Rangers, Emma Watson of Rangers
- "gers youngsters sign professional contracts". rangers.co.uk. rangers football club. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
Rangers Football Club are today delighted to confirm that Emma Watson, Jodi McLeary and Kirsty Maclean have all signed professional contracts with the club.
- "'Historic milestone' for Ibrox graduates". BBC Sport. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
A historic milestone" is how Rangers have described three teenagers becoming the first graduates from their girls' academy to be handed professional contracts.
- "Women's Champions League: Benfica extra-time double defeats Rangers". bbc.co.uk. bbc. 28 August 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
Watson scores with three minutes of normal time remaining
- "report Benfica 2–1 (5–3) Rangers". rangers.co.uk. rangers football club. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
Rangers uefa Women's Champions League journey came to an end this evening with a 2–1 defeat to Benfica in Portugal after extra time.
- "Emma Watson | Scotland | Scottish FA". www.scottishfa.co.uk.
- "Rangers' Watson given first Scotland call at 17". BBC Sport. 29 March 2023.
- "Australia 0–1 Scotland: Emma Watson, 17, hailed as 'outstanding' on winning debut". BBC Sport. 7 April 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- Falk, Graham (7 April 2023). "Scotland goalscorer compares teen prospect to Chelsea star after impressive win". The Scotsman. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- Lindsay, Clive (11 April 2023). "Scotland 4-0 Costa Rica: Emma Watson, 17, inspires win with first goals". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
- "Scotland Women 4-0 Costa Rica Women: Seventeen-year-old Emma Watson scores two in Hampden thrashing". Sky Sports.
- Report: Rangers 2-0 Hibernian - The Gers Lift The Sky Sports Cup, Rangers FC, 11 December 2022