Kirsty Howat marked her first Scotland start with two stunning goals in an entertaining friendly win over China in Jerez, Spain.

Kirsty Hanson was also on target in a fantastic opening 15-minute spell before Howat spurned the chance to complete a hat-trick from the penalty spot.

China - ranked nine places above Scotland in the Fifa standings - replied with goals from Zhang Linyan and Wu Chengshu either side of the missed spot-kick.

There was concern for Scotland when captain Erin Cuthbert was taken to hospital after suffering a head knock late in the 3-2 victory, having left the field on a stretcher in a neck brace.

The Chelsea midfielder was released a few hours later.

Scotland head coach Melissa Andreatta had challenged her players to close out a disappointing 2025 on a high, having won just one of their previous nine matches over the past 12 months.

And three goals in an electrifying four-minute spell set them on their way to earning just the second win of the Australian's tenure.

Crystal Palace forward Howat opened the scoring - and her Scotland account - on the 11th minute with a delightful, lofted finish into the far corner from the right of the box.

The 28-year-old then turned provider for strike partner Hanson to bury a quickfire second at Estadio Municipal de Chapin.

And by minute 15, it was 3-0 when Howat looked up and caught goalkeeper Zhu Yu off her line with an outrageous, long-range drive.

China were thrashed 8-0 by England last week and appeared destined for another heavy loss but they pulled one back when Zhang Linyan was afforded too much space in the box to finish.

The world's 16th-ranked nation then made the Scots suffer for spells towards the end of the first half.

Scotland withstood that pressure and passed up the chance to go 4-1 up after the break when a trip on Cuthbert presented Howat with the opportunity to complete a hat-trick.

The forward was left disappointed, though, when she struck the left-hand post before lifting the rebound over the crossbar.

A header into the bottom corner from Zhang Rui then made it a nervy finish for Scotland, with Huo Yuexin narrowly missing on the slide soon after.

But Andreatta's side held on to go into next year's World Cup qualifying campaign on the back of a hard-fought success.

Scotland head coach Melissa Andreatta: "We started fast and maximised the chances we created, then the momentum sort of swung towards China.

"But I think we regrouped towards the latter stages of the half and talked about a few things at half-time. We started the second half strongly, had a penalty and poor Kirsty [Howat] going for a third missed it.

"If we get that the pressure sort of releases a little bit, but then they go and score. That makes it super interesting, which is Scottish apparently.

"What we did was show really good character. The way we defended was excellent to deny them chances from all those crosses. Looking ahead, that's what you're going to need in tight games and tournament football."