They are debutants, the lowest-ranked side in the competition and face the in the group stage but Wales believe they have a few ways to get an edge; namely book clubs, yoga and a “Welsh red vein” that runs through the squad.
After a string of near misses in previous qualification campaigns, Wales secured a spot at with a win over Ireland back in December under Canadian coach Rhian Wilkinson. Like many of her players, Wilkinson has parental roots in Wales that she says run deep.
“I think we’re starting to see now, as [women’s] football becomes more and more professionalized, that pathway players, players with connections to Wales, are now eligible and we’re utilizing that more,” she told DW.
“What I have to balance as the coach is that we never lose that this is a Welsh team with a Welsh red vein going through it. That is critical. We can never lose that connection, that pride and I think pathway players have to feel it, and have to feel it as strongly as native born Welsh players, which I think they do. We’ve got a great team.”
Making the most of it
After taking over in early 2024, Wilkinson’s side lost only one of their 11 games in her first year despite relatively few big name players.
“We don’t have the player depth and talent pools that bigger nations have,” Wilkinson said of a country with a population of three million.
“But what we do have is a connection to the team, to that sisterhood, to that family that allows them to play at a standard that I think is consistently surprising people, because they’ll give everything for their team and their badge.”
Wilkinson won 181 caps as a player for and has named an experienced squad led by 38-year-old Jess Fishlock. The Wales midfielder was described as “incredibly important” by her coach. When the former FFC Frankfurt, Lyon and Seattle Reign midfielder made her Wales debut in 2006, things were very different.
Just three years earlier, Wales had pulled out of qualifying for Euro 2005 after the Welsh Football Association (FAW) decided trips to to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Estonia and Israel were too expensive and the cash was needed for the men’s team.
The pace of change has been rapid in the two decades since. But while all of the Welsh squad are professional, the domestic league is not, with not a single squad member drawn from it. Welsh players still have to move abroad, , to make it as a top level footballer. Bethan Wooley, the FAW’s strategic lead for women and girls’ football, thinks Euro 2025 will provide a springboard for further change.
See it to be it
“People will be able to see our players on the world stage for the first time. It’s about visibility and awareness and ensuring that our young girls have somebody to look up to,” she told DW.
England saw a rapid rise in participation when they hosted, and won, the 2022 Euros and Wooley says Wales have also seen an uptick. But with that comes a race to be ready for a Euros surge.
“It’s all around ensuring that there’s as many opportunities for women and girls, making sure that the facilities are adequate and are appropriate for female participants, and ensuring that we’re getting the investment in to be able to put back into the women and girls game, to allow it to flourish in many different ways. This is a huge opportunity for us. There’s going to be eyes on our team. We want to make our team household names.”
But before legacy can be measured, there’s a tournament to be played. Wales begin their Euro 2025 against 2017 champions the Netherlands on July 5 followed by matches against France (July 9) and England (July 13). It’s a tough ask for a side ranked 30th in the world but the players are ready for the unique challenges of a tournament environment, according to goalkeeper Olivia Clark.
Yoga, books and social media plans
“I think it’s just exciting,” she told DW. “Luckily, we all get along really well, and we’re a massive family. But we’ve got a few things going. We’ve got a little a book club, we’ve got a little yoga club, and being in such a beautiful place as well, in Switzerland, I’m sure there’ll be many things to do. We’re quite chill and we’re quite relaxed.”
Wilkinson will hope her squad stays that way as the spotlight grows more intense. Wales are under little pressure to escape such a tough group but social media scrutiny, and more often abuse, has become a constant issue for sportspeople, .
“I encourage them to turn the comments off, and I encourage them not to to read anything,” the coach added.
Clark, from the player’s perspective, is confident the close-knit nature of the group and individually tailored plans for social media during the tournament, will allow Wales to focus on the football and, in the words of her coach, “catch a few people sleeping.”
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
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