SCOTLAND star Caroline Weir is excited to return to the squad ahead of tonight's World Cup qualifier with Hungary - and reckons playing at Hampden can further inspire the next generation.

The 26-year-old, a former pupil at Dunfermline High School, is hoping to win her 80th cap when Pedro Martinez Losa's team walk out for their third match in Group B at the national stadium.

Manchester City midfielder Caroline, one of two Scots who competed for Team GB during this year's Olympic Games in Tokyo, missed out on September's 2-0 win over the Hungarians in Budapest, and a 7-1 home rout of the Faroe Islands, due to a knee injury.

She is back in contention in her first camp under the stewardship of Martinez Losa, a former coach of Caroline's at Arsenal, who succeeded Shelley Kerr, and hopes to create more magical memories at Hampden.

In May 2019, the Scots played a World Cup warm-up match against Jamaica in Mount Florida and, in front of 18,555 - a record crowd for a Scotland women's national team match - Caroline netted in a 3-2 victory.

In a wide-ranging interview with Press Sport yesterday (Thursday), more of which is to come in next week's edition, she said: "I think as players, we're all buzzing that we know that that's where every game is going to be, at the national stadium, and we're excited to play there tomorrow night. Hopefully we can get a decent crowd there as well.

"It's really important I think. We're a national team, we should be playing in the national stadium, which we are now, and that's where we should be playing our competitive games.

"It's great for players but it's good for fans as well. We know where our games are going to be, it makes it easier for them, and we want to fill the stadium. We want to keep progressing our fanbase and our crowds, and there's no better place to do that than Hampden.

"We're all about inspiring young girls and boys as well to play football. We saw the success of the men's team in recent months, which has been great and really brought the country together.

"We know what that feels like because that was us a few years ago going to a World Cup, so we want more of that, and if we can encourage young girls especially to play football, that would be great. One way of doing it is for them to come and see us live, and at Hampden.

"I would've definitely loved that as a kid, going to see a women's team at Hampden, so I think that's great where we're going to be playing.

"Hopefully a lot of people come and watch!"

On her return to the squad, Caroline continued: "I hadn't missed a camp for ages, so it was weird not to be here, but the girls did really well to get the two results. It was probably the best decision for me not to go because of my injury, but it was weird watching from home. It's nice to be back.

"It does feel like it's the start of something new. Having new coaching staff in is exciting and a new World Cup qualifying campaign is great. It feels like there's a lot of big games and exciting games to come, and they're all going to be at Hampden as well, so that's even better."

In addition to chatting to Press Sport, Caroline is featured in the latest edition of the Official Scotland Podcast, in which she discusses life in the Scotland camp, growing up in a Pars supporting household, and birthday parties with Hamish French and Sammy the Tammy.

You can give it a watch by clicking here, or watching the video below.

Tickets for tonight's game, which kicks off at 7.35pm, can be bought online and sent directly to your phone. They cost £10 for adults, and £5 for kids/seniors.

Alternatively, you can watch live on BBC Alba.