Wales manager Gemma Grainger has named a strong squad, as they prepare to take on Bosnia & Herzegovina in their World Cup playoff.
Wales reached the playoffs after drawing against Slovenia at the Cardiff City Stadium last month.
If they are successful against the Bosnians, they will then face Switzerland in Zurich for a place in the World Cup, and the prospect of that is something the squad is relishing, according to Grainger.
‘Really happy, really excited. The short turnaround, the emphasis that we have on these kinds of short turnarounds, we prepare for it’
‘This was the position we wanted to be in at the start of the campaign. The fact that we’re here now, that makes it most exciting because we’re here for the first time’
The only notable absentee from the squad is Tash Harding, who is unavailable due to personal reasons.
While the loss of Harding in and around the dressing room is not ideal in any sense, Grainger is confident that others will step up when called upon.
‘For us we have many players in this team who have leadership qualities on and off the pitch, Tash is one of them, but we’ve gotten through the campaign with different players at different times’
‘If you look at the number of players we have used, the number of players who have started in games from Game 1 to Game 10, it gives us great confidence in our preparation’
Bosnia finished second in their group that contained Denmark, winning three, drawing two and losing three in their eight games.
They came into the playoffs as the lowest ranked team, but, even though Wales will be touted as clear favourites, Grainger says they still need to focus.
‘The pressure we put on ourselves is to reach the standards and continue to drive those standards, that’s the pressure that we put on ourselves’
‘If it’s Bosnia, if it’s Slovenia, if it’s Switzerland, the pressure that we want to put on ourselves is to perform to the standards that we’ve set with this team’
‘We are respectful of any opposition. People will see Bosnia as the lowest ranked team in the draw, which they were and that’s a fact. However, Bosnia will be in a position where they want to come and give a good account of themselves’
With the men’s team going to the World Cup in less than 90 days and the women on the brink of getting to one themselves, Grainger can see the parallels between both squads and believes there’s no reason why they can’t emulate the men’s team.
‘Looking at the level of opposition that our men’s national team are playing against, the calibre of opposition that we’re competing with on a consistent basis is something that we’re doing in the women’s team as well’
‘So, whilst we wouldn’t have the Nations League as such, we’re playing against those category A teams as are the men’s team, and we want to think big and we want to believe big, because playing against those team gives you an opportunity to learn as much as you need to about yourself’
So far 9000 tickets have been sold for the game on October 6th at the Cardiff City Stadium, and Grainger hopes the Red Wall will come out in force again for the game against Bosnia.
‘The crowd in the Slovenia game played such a huge part. We wanted that to happen. We felt the support of the crowd’
‘The fact we’ve sold over 9000 tickets already and we’re ten days out from the game is huge for us. We want to break that record again. The fans played a huge part during the game’
‘We want that support again and we look forward to getting it’
WALES SQUAD TO FACE BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA AND SWITZERLAND (TBC)
Laura O’SULLIVAN (Cardiff City Ladies), Olivia CLARK (Bristol City), Safia MIDDLETON-PATEL (Manchester United), Rhiannon ROBERTS (Liverpool), Josie GREEN (Leicester), Hayley LADD (Manchester United), Gemma EVANS (Reading), Rachel ROWE (Reading), Lily WOODHAM (Reading), Sophie INGLE (Chelsea), Anna FILBEY (Crystal Palace), Angharad JAMES (Tottenham), Georgia WALTERS (Sheffield United), Charlie ESTCOURT (Birmingham City), Jess FISHLOCK (OL Reign), Carrie JONES (Leicester), Ffion MORGAN (Bristol City), Meg WYNNE (Southampton), Elise HUGHES (Crystal Palace), Kayleigh GREEN (Brighton), Helen WARD (Watford), Ceri HOLLAND (Liverpool), Maria FRANCIS-JONES (Sheffield United), Chloe WILLIAMS (Blackburn), Morgan ROGERS (Watford), Chloe BULL (Bristol City)
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