Gemma Evans prepares for landmark game against Iceland

Gemma Evans has said it would be a dream come true to win her 50^th cap, as Cymru prepare to take on Iceland in the Pinatar Cup.

Evans is in line to reach her half-century of appearances on Saturday night, and she was full of joy when discussing the possibly of reaching the landmark.

“It would be unbelievable, a dream come true. It’s something I’ve dreamt of as a kid and fingers crossed the big 50 does come.

“During the anthem, I’ll be thinking of my family 100% and my friends. I’ve got a close group of friends and my family are so supportive.

“They travel all over the world to see me, as do my friends, so I’ll be thinking of those special people.”

Her Cymru and Reading teammate, Rachel Rowe, was visibly proud when talking about Gemma’s achievements, and admitted that she encapsulates what Wales is all about.

“She empowers everything of what it means to be Welsh, she epitomises it.

“She’s one of my favourite people and hopefully be alongside her when she gets that achievement. I can’t express enough how much I love that girl; she really deserves it.

“If I get asked what being Welsh is, I’d say Gemma Evans, from Gelli in the Valleys.”

On the pitch, Cymru started off their Pinatar Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over the Philippines.

While it wasn’t a vintage performance, Evans was pleased that her side got three points on the board early on.

“It was the first time ever that we’ve played the Philippines and it was a different challenge for a lot of us.

“But it was important that we got the three points. We could’ve probably created a few more goalscoring opportunities, but we back ourselves on our defensive duties and we got the win.”

For Rowe, the game was an opportunity to play in a more her more natural position in the middle of the park alongside Angharad James and Sophie Ingle, a role she loves to play.

“It was a bit of a blast from the past!

“That’s my favourite position in midfield, I don’t get to play there a lot nationally, but it was nice to be back there and our link up play was good.

“It’s just a different dynamic. We will get used to it and to where we are on the field and get higher up the pitch.”

Saturday will see Cymru face Iceland, a team who are ranked 16 places above Gemma Grainger’s side in the World Rankings.

Cymru’s hard tackling centre half Evans was under no illusion about how difficult a challenge it was going to be.

“It’s going to be a physical game, a very physical and intense game.

“But we’ve got a good bunch of players here, training has been very intense, and we’ve prepared well and we’ll go out and fight for the win.”

A game against Iceland provides another opportunity for Cymru to play a higher-ranking nation.

While they have competed well against the likes of France and Switzerland under Grainger’s tenure, they’ve not been able to get the victory, a fact Rowe is desperate to change.

“People will see us as an underdog, but we have a belief in our group of what we can achieve.

“I get frustrated, people can contain themselves better than me in most cases, because I believe we can get results, and when we watch those games back its always fine margins.

“But certainly, on our best day we can compete with the best in the world.”

Cymru face Iceland on Saturday night in their second game of the Pinatar Cup. Kick off is at 19:30 and you can follow the game on the BBC iPlayer.