Three WPWL players who deserved Wales call-up after recent snub
19/05/2021 - Cardiff Met 2-3 Cardiff City © Carl Robertson
Gemma Grainger has named a 26-person squad for Wales friendly with Scotland however there is no place for any Welsh domestic-based players.
The Welsh Premier Women’s League has played to its usual conclusion of a 16-game season and has been competitive across the board.
Cardiff Met and Swansea City have fiercely fought at the top of the table for the top prize in Welsh Women’s football.
There has also been some competitiveness below the top two with newer names coming to light, proving the league is a hotbed for talent to shine.
Despite the game in Wales evidently improving, it remains underrepresented on the national stage and poses questions on the pathway from the domestic scene to the national setup.
Below are three players I believe who based on their performances this season merited a place in Grainger’s squad ahead of next month’s friendly at Parc y Scarlets.
Pheobie Poole
Anyone who follows the WPWL will know Pheobie Poole’s name.
This 17-year-old is making a name for herself as one of the league’s top goal scorers, having netted 13 times for Cardiff City this season.
When you add her eight League Cup goals, which includes two hat-tricks, her total for the season rises to 21.
Poole has been rewarded for her performances with a recent call-up to the U19 camp alongside senior players Bethan Roberts and Maria Francis-Jones.
Wales have track record of giving players opportunities to impress at senior level from a young age.
With Poole in fine goalscoring form for a player of any age it can’t be long before Grainger decides to take a closer look at the 17-year-old.
Claire Skinner
Swansea City shot-stopper Claire Skinner has previously been called up to the Wales team under Jayne Ludlow, however that was when she was at English-based Cardiff City Ladies.
In fact, Skinner was most recently one of the 26 players involved in February’s training camp earlier this year.
In the WPWL this season Skinner has been a big part of a Swansea City defence that has only conceded once and racked up 14 clean sheets.
When looking at last season’s curtailed season as well, the 24-year-old has only conceded twice in 26 games across the last two league campaigns.
Chloe O’Connor
The third and final player in this list is Cardiff Met midfielder Chloe O’Connor.
O’Connor returned to football at the start of this season after beating a benign tumour and is currently the top scorer in the league with 16 goals.
In her return to Welsh domestic football, she has controlled games from the centre of the park, becoming arguably the best performing player in the division.
Like Skinner, O’Connor has previous been a part of the Welsh national team.
Her only cap to date came during the 2016 Cyprus Cup, starting in Wales’ 2-1 loss to Hungary.
The 26-year-old has played a key role as Cardiff Met have taken Swansea City down to the wire in the league.
Not just the WPWL. How many players from the JD Cymru League were selected for Paul Bodin’s side? They picked some players who play once every three weeks against players of their own age group in the English youth system despite some stellar performances every three or four days by some exciting youngsters against seasoned adult players