Northern Ireland and Scotland qualify for world cup

Northern Ireland and Scotland have qualified for the Netball World Cup 2019, on the second day of competition at the Regional Qualifier – Europe in Perth, Scotland today. They will join host nation England, who will qualify automatically for the tournament.

Northern Ireland looked comfortable throughout as they outclassed Wales in a 57-42 victory to secure one of the two qualification spots available for the tournament, which takes place in Liverpool next summer.

Scotland’s 52-40 victory over Wales on Friday evening, means they take the second place available for the Europe region, with heartbroken Wales missing out after failing to win either of their two matches.

Speaking after the game, Northern Ireland’s captain Caroline O’Hanlon said:

“There was a lot at stake – both teams were playing for their lives today really so I’m just relieved to get over the line.

“We knew if we went hard and played to our potential that we would get a result but Wales are a great team and we knew they’d put it up to us right to the very end.”

Scotland and Northern Ireland will be back in action tomorrow, Sunday 21 January, when the two teams will face each other. Although both teams have secured their places in Liverpool, the match is set to be hotly contested as they battle for valuable International Netball Federation world ranking points.

Follow the game online on the BBC Sport website and Netball World Cup 2019 Facebook page.