Wales head coach Rhian Wilkinson has named her squad for the final set of European qualifiers against Croatia and Kosovo.
There are two first time call-ups amongst the 26 names selected. Defender Amy Richardson has just made the move to Celtic having spent time in the Everton academy, while another defensive minded player, 16-year-old Cadi Rodgers, is part of the FAW Girls’ Academy.
In total there are three changes to the squad from the games against Ukraine last month. Along with Richardson and Rodgers, there’s a recall for fellow FAW Academy player Mared Griffiths. Poppy Soper, Olivia Francis and Josie Green are the three to make way from the last camp. Green suffered an injury last month, and these two fixtures seem to have come a little too early for the recently released Leicester player.
New faces has been a constant theme of Wilkinson’s tenure so far, and it’s something she is going to look to continue to do.
“There’s probably three quarters of the squad that’s pretty clear, if not more, then there’s a few spaces available. I speak to the U19 coach, the U17 coach, and those involved in the pathway, and there’s always good discussions about who is ready to be seen and who plays in a position that we need to see some depth in. In this camp, I’m really looking forward to seeing Cadi and Amy, who I haven’t seen before.”
Reality Check
Wales come into the final two games off the back of two draws against Ukraine.
Both performances in Llanelli and Poznan weren’t at the level the Red Wall has come to expect of this team, and Wilkinson knows there are plenty of areas Wales can improve on.
“I speak to the coaches before I speak to the players at the end of a game, because emotions are always high after full time, but I feel like what I said was the right thing. This isn’t the camp we wanted, but it’s absolutely the camp we needed. It’s a reality check about where we’re at.
“We’re in League B, but every game we have to earn that win. We had opportunities to score that we didn’t take, lax defending at certain moments, a bit of game management, and it was clear we weren’t at our best. But it’s all in our hands. We know we have to show up and deliver.”
After the rip-roaring start to the campaign (scoring ten and conceding none), two draws have perhaps tempered expectations of this Wales side.
However, Wilkinson does see some positives in the two draws to Ukraine, especially for when Wales progress into the playoffs.
“It’s football. I’m not going to be dramatic and say this is a huge setback, but I’m not going to lie either and say it wasn’t a let-down. This is what the game is, and we’re going to play games in the future where we dominate and play well but don’t win.
“I was frustrated by how many chances we created and didn’t finish. That and the last ten minutes where we lost our nerve are huge highlights for me. That’s the adversity we have to go through.
“Had we walked through our qualifying campaign, we wouldn’t have been as ready for the playoffs. Did I want that? No, but this is what’s in front of us, and it’s probably important that we’ve had to feel a little bit of pain.”
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Captaincy Conundrum
A new camp of course brings the topic of the captaincy around once again.
It does look like that there will be two different captains for these two games, and the head coach still sees no problem at the moment with rotating the armband.
“Camps are very quick, and this is a big decision and not one I’m afraid to make, but also one I have to respect properly. I don’t feel like a have to name a captain because the media is asking about it.
“The players have no issues about it, and we do speak about it. I know who will be wearing the armband next camp, but that’s an internal thing before it ever becomes public.”
However, when asked if there were plans to have a more permanent captain in the future, Wilkinson revealed she had an idea, but also said there may not be one sole captain in the future.
“I think I have a rough plan of how I would like the captaincy to work and then there’s what actually happens in camp and the realities of it. I do work a lot with the staff who know the players far better than I do, and there’s good discussions on what we want to do.
“Is it going to be a single person? That’s also a question to ask because sometimes, we may get caught up in the archaic way of doing things in football.”
No Experimentation
Heading into the games away to Croatia and home to Kosovo, Wales sit in second place and one-point behind the Croats.
If Wales win both games, it means they will top the group and be a seeded team in the first part of the playoffs, and in principle, hand them an “easier” tie.
Wins are imperative, and as a result, Wilkinson has told fans not to expect anything experimental in these final two games.
“You won’t have seen me experimenting too much in the past few games. I really want to give credit to Ukraine because they were very organised and gave everything. These, however, are not games for experimenting.
“They were at the beginning just to get some different caps and see different combinations, but we’re clear on what we need to be doing this camp.”
WALES SQUAD TO FACE CROATIA AND KOSOVO
Olivia Clark (Bristol City), Laura O’Sullivan (Gwalia United), Safia Middleton-Patel (Manchester United)
Rhiannon Roberts (Real Betis), Charlie Estcourt (Reading), Hayley Ladd (Manchester United), Gemma Evans (Manchester United), Mayzee Davies (Manchester United), Amy Richardson (Celtic), Cadi Rodgers (FAW Girls Academy North), Lily Woodham (Seattle Reign), Ella Powell (Bristol City)
Sophie Ingle (Chelsea), Alice Griffiths (Southampton), Angharad James (Seattle Reign), Lois Joel (London City Lionesses), Rachel Rowe (Southampton), Carrie Jones (Bristol City), Ffion Morgan (Bristol City), Jess Fishlock (Seattle Reign)
Ceri Holland (Liverpool), Ellen Jones (Sunderland), Kayleigh Barton (Charlton Atheltic), Mary McAteer (Sunderland), Tianna Teisar (Bristol City), Mared Griffiths (FAW Girls Academy North)
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