Chelsea captain Erin Cuthbert "is available" for Scotland in their Women's World Cup round one two-legged play-off against the Czech Republic, according to head coach Melissa Andreatta - despite not featuring for her club yet this season.

The midfielder, who was announced as skipper of the WSL outfit last month, has not featured for Sonia Bompastor's second-placed side of late as she has been recovering from a knee injury sustained on international duty in June.

But the 28-year-old has followed the plan between her club and country "to a T", meaning she is in contention to make her first appearance of the season when the Scots face the Czechs in Pardubice on Friday evening - live on the BBC.

"I think what I'm super proud of is the connection and communication between club and country and at the heart of it is Erin and what's best for Erin and her wellbeing," Andreatta - whose side topped their qualifying group earlier this year - told BBC Scotland.

"The plan is working to a T at the moment and you should see her being available to us coming into the game."

Should the Scots negotiate this tie - the reverse in Paisley on Tuesday - then they will progress to a round two play-off, likely against heavyweights Sweden, next month.

Even if they defeat the back-to-back World Cup semi-finalists, though, they still might not be guaranteed a spot at next summer's tournament, with the lowest ranked European qualifier entering the inter-confederation play-offs next year.

But all that is too far down the line for Australian Andreatta to concern herself with. For now, her full focus is on getting past the "physical" Czech Republic, by "sticking in our bubble".

"Focusing on ourselves, being locked in on us, staying in our bubble and sticking to what has been working for us and doing it even better [will be key]", Andreatta added.

"I try not to look too far ahead and just take things as they come, one step at a time and that's what I'll be doing again.

"Looking forward to that first whistle and then the first action where I'll be really connected to my team and to the moments of the game that matter, so we make it all count."

Pardubice is the next stop on Scotland's road to Brazil journey, as they look to end their eight-year major tournament drought and qualify for their second World Cup after doing so in 2019.

The Czech Republic - who finished second in Group B2 of qualifying behind Wales - are, in Andreatta's eyes, like the Scots as "a team on the rise". They are searching for their own history, having never qualified for a major tournament before.

Scotland head coach Melissa Andreatta: "We're a team on the rise as well and I think we've seen that with each game, we've really focused on our strengths and what we need to do even better to make sure that we put ourselves in the position to have the game that we want and get the result that we want.

"But again, it'll only be a half-time, so we'll be calm, composed and in control after that match and ready to go again at Paisley."

Scotland forward Kirsty Howard: "They're going to be very physical, very attacking, so we just have to be on our A-game. We know what it's going to be like, so we've been working really hard.

"We've just got to put in all the hard work together and work hard for one another. We know we can do it and hopefully all that pays off in the game."