SCOTLAND coach Anna Signeul is hoping for a better performance from her players when they meet Portugal in Viana do Castelo tonight.

The friendly is Scotland's last before they play the Faroe Islands and Sweden next month in games which will almost certainly determine whether they or the Swedes qualify for next summer's World Cup in Canada.

Sweden are away to Poland tomorrow, and if they win their game in hand will go three points clear of Signeul's side in Group 4.

"It's good that we've fitted another game in," Signeul said. "Our performance against Wales (a 1-1 friendly at Palmerston Park earlier this month) was a little up and down."

The Scots will again be without star player Kim Little as Signeul decided it wasn't in the player's interests to fly over from Seattle where her side are attempting to win the National Women's Soccer League.

Also out are Glasgow City captain Leanne Ross, who broke a bone in her right foot in the Champions League qualifier against Glentoran last week, her team-mate Suzanne Lappin and Rangers striker Suzanne Mulvey.

"It was a real blow when Leanne got injured and terrible timing for her," Signeul said of the 33-year-old. "I've never seen her playing better than she was before the injury - she is one of the players who has developed most from our new training regime."

The Glasgow City player had an operation on Saturday but could be out for the rest of the year. Her team-mate Eilish McSorley and Celtic's Heather Richards were called into the squad which left for Portugal on Monday.

Signeul is not optimistic that third-place Poland will do her side a favour tomorrow night.

A win or draw will take Sweden to the top of Group 4 for the first time and Signeul admitted: "They got a wake-up call from us being ahead of them for so long and I can't see Poland getting anything from the match - Sweden are too good for that."