Caroline Weir: Scotland captain would swap Ballon d'Or nominations for a World Cup place
The Lyon midfielder is on the 30-player shortlist for the second year running, but says reaching Brazil 2027 is all that matters as Scotland prepare to face Sweden.
Caroline Weir. File photo. · Photograph: joshjdss (CC BY 2.0)
Scotland captain Caroline Weir says she would trade all her individual awards for the chance to play at next summer's World Cup.
The 31-year-old has been named on the 30-player shortlist for the Women's Ballon d'Or for the second year in a row, after a standout year for club and country. The ceremony takes place in London on Monday night.
A remarkable year
Weir left Real Madrid as the club's all-time leading goalscorer and joined eight-time European champions Lyon in the summer. She was also named Scotland captain and has scored 11 international goals, including three hat-tricks.
Speaking at St Mirren Park, she played down the nomination, saying it was an honour to be on a list with so many good players but that awards like this were very subjective.
Last year, she became the first Scottish woman to be nominated, in the same year as Scott McTominay was nominated in the men's award. That nomination came in her comeback year from a serious knee injury. Recalling last year's ceremony in Paris, she said there were superstars everywhere she looked.
Weir is currently recovering from an injury she picked up in the warm-up before Scotland's second leg against the Czech Republic, so her plans for the ceremony are uncertain.
'I'd swap everything'
Weir has made no secret of how much she wants to reach Brazil 2027, after the heartbreak of Scotland's failure to qualify for Euro 2025.
Scotland must now get past Sweden, back-to-back World Cup semi-finalists, in their play-off. Weir said reaching the World Cup was her biggest objective and that she would swap all her nominations and goals for the team to get there.
Friendship with Emslie
Team-mates Erin Cuthbert and Claire Emslie recently presented her with a commemorative shirt to mark her nominations. Weir and Emslie have been friends for 20 years and were part of Scotland's squad at the 2019 World Cup. Weir described Emslie, who recently scored her first goal since becoming a mother, as an inspiration.