Gemma Grainger predicting twists and turns in World Cup group

Gemma Grainger has said that her side are targeting a historic place at their first World Cup in 2023.

Wales have been drawn in Group I alongside France, Slovenia, Greece, Kazakhstan and Estonia.

The team that finishes first in the group will directly qualify for the finals in Australia and New Zealand, with the runners up entering the playoffs.

“It’s going to be a long campaign and there will be twists and turns thought.

“France are obviously the toughest side because of their ranking but all the nations have their own strengths.

“If we play to our potential, I’m confident that we perform and get good results off the back of that.”

For Grainger having fans back in the stadium will be crucial in Wales’ hopes of reaching a first World Cup.

Wales begin their campaign at home against Kazakhstan on Friday, 17 September 2021.

“I can’t wait for the first game in September, I hope there are fans in the stadium because that will give us a great feel as we to start the campaign.

“We wanted to play at home in the final game in 2022 because we know what it will be like with the fans.

“For the final game to be on a Tuesday night we are hoping that the fans can get behind us to give us the advantage to finish off the campaign.

“Part of what we want to do as a team is to inspire the next generation and to make people proud.

“So, to have the people alongside us and supporting us is so important.”

With a record 51 nations competing this year, the groups were split into three groups of five and six groups of six with Wales being drawn in the latter.

“The group of six was a preference for me because it’s more consistent,” said the Wales boss. “You play two games every window.

“When you’re in a group of five you sometimes only play one game in a window, which can sometimes add more pressure.

Despite Wales coming into the group as a pot two side, Grainger doesn’t think that it will be an easy campaign.

“All of the games will be challenging in different ways because there is never an easy game in international football.

“In the previous camp, we learnt a lot from playing against higher-ranked teams.

“That will help us come to the games against France, which is why we did it.”

The former England youth coach has been involved in playing against all of the nations in Group I at some point in her career.

“It’s an advantage for me, knowing their style of play and a little bit about the nation. But the focus is always going to be on us.

“That was our mentality for the last camp and that will be our mentality going forward for the rest of this campaign.

“We will stick to how we started, building on the current foundations and keep the focus on us and how we can win games.”

(Featured Image: Lewis Mitchell)