Should Wales be in panic mode after eleven games without a win?
SWANSEA, WALES - 03 JUNE 2025: Wales players hold a huddle after the 3rd Italy goal during the UEFA Women’s Nations League, League A Group A4 match between Wales and Italy at The Swansea.com Stadium on the 3rd of June 2025. (Pic by John Smith/FAW)
Wales 2-5 Poland. After applauding the Red Wall, a new look Cymru trudged off the field knowing they’ve just gone eleven games without a win.
When you only look at the numbers, it does make grim reading for Wales. Eleven games. Nine defeats. Two draws. Nine scored and 30 conceded. On top of all that, the only time Wales have led a game this year was in this most recent friendly against Poland.
Wales manager Rhian Wilkinson made it very clear post-match that she did not like the performance against Poland one bit, and neither did the fan base. Once again, the Wilkinson out brigade emerged, asking if the future for Wales is bright?
So, what is going on? Why is this run so bad, and the biggest question of all, should fans be worried?
A horror run
It is Halloween this weekend, but Wales’ current run of form is enough to send a shudder down anyone’s spine. Yet, like many things, context is so important.
Wales are ranked 32nd in the world rankings and have never been higher than 29th in their history. When you take a look at who they’ve played this year, you begin to realise how tough this year has been.
Sweden are ranked third, England fourth, France sixth, The Netherlands eleventh, Italy twelfth, Denmark fourteenth, Australia fifteenth, and Poland are a little further down at number 26.
No side who are placed where Wales are have had a tougher run in world football. It is highly unusual for Cymru to face a group of teams clustered around the top of the rankings.
England are back-to-back European Champions, the Dutch still had the core of the squad that won a Euros in 2017, France are perennial tournament semi-finalists, Sweden came third in the last World Cup, Australia reached the last four on home soil in 2023.
All of these nations are more developed as women’s football nations than Wales. In most cases, Cymru are still around 20 years or more behind in development.
No one wants an eleven-game winless run, no matter what level you play at, but context is so important when looking at this poor run.
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A new era
We’ve talked about the games themselves, but what about the playing squad itself?
Obviously, Wales has lost a few stars. Rhian Wilkinson can no longer rely on Kayleigh Barton or Jess Fishlock, and the time has come for others to be those clutch players.
What this window has showcased to us is the fact that Wales are well and truly entering a new era.
Over the course of these two friendlies, five players made their debuts, and they all made a good impact. It will take time for these prospects to develop. It’s very rare that a period of transition brings with it huge success.
However, when you look at the nations around us, there is a cause for optimism. England are in a league of their own when it comes to the talent pool and resources, but Wales feel a step ahead of others.
The Republic of Ireland have a squad made up of, mainly, players in their early to mid-30s. Northern Ireland are similar, and while Scotland have plenty of players in their prime, none of these three nations are having a youth movement as big as Wales are.
In a few years, many of our young players will have tens of caps and would still not be in their prime. It is something to be excited about, but there is one problem.
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Playing time
It’s all well and good to have a talented crop of players coming through, but they need game time at club level, and that isn’t happening.
Wilkinson said in the build-up to the friendly against Australia that 65% of her players were not getting regular game time.
Youngsters like Griffiths, Hill and Scarlett only get run outs for their club’s development squads. Then you have older players like Charlie Estcourt, Safia Middleton-Patel, Olivia Clark and Gemma Evans who aren’t getting many minutes. Even centurions Angharad James and Hayley Ladd are missing out.
Overall, this is a team that aren’t getting the minutes in their legs to be able to go toe-to-toe with the best in the world. Yes, they’re talented, but these players need to be up to scratch.
Take Poland as an example. Star players do play regularly for top clubs; Ewa Pajor at Barcelona, Paulina Dudek at PSG. Yet, their fringe players are playing for mid-table teams in the likes of France, Germany and Norway, top European leagues.
Playing for clubs like Dijon or Nuremburg may not be glamorous, but these Polish players know that, if they want to play regularly, they need to go and search for it. We saw in the Euros how much that benefitted them. They defeated Denmark in the Euros, something Wales haven’t done, and looked very assured against Sweden and Germany.
Carrie Jones is a shining example, from a Wales point of view, of what some could be inspired to do. In Sweden, Jones is playing week in week out and facing off against some of the best prospects in Europe, and you can see how much better she is as a player.
Perhaps some need to be ready to take the risk and play out of their comfort zone. Not only will it have huge benefits for them, but incredible benefits for the national team.
Australia striker Sam Kerr pays tribute to Wales “icon” Jess Fishlock
The verdict
With all the information at our disposal, the question is, should Wales be panicking?
Overall, not yet. Wales have faced a calibre of opponent that they would never ever usually face, and the results against them do standout, especially for those who don’t watch this team on a regular basis.
There were also a lot of injuries in this camp. Lily Woodham, Rhiannon Roberts, Josie Green, Esther Morgan, Rachel Rowe and Ella Powell all missed out because of knocks, while someone like Mayzee Davies is a more long-term problem.
It’s also rare to see so many youngsters be thrusted into a team at once. Eight uncapped players in one squad is unheard of, and there were understandable nerves in the Australia and Poland games.
The good news is, the quality of opponent Wales face from now on will drop. The upcoming Nations League B campaign will bring with it incredible winnable games.
But here’s the kicker. Wilkinson has said throughout Nations League A, and the Euros, that Wales have learned a lot. In this next campaign, we need to see these lessons put into action. Wales need to be braver and possess the ability to finish off teams.
On top of all this, January is going to be a huge month for a lot of players. Whether it’s permanent or loan moves, we need to see Welsh players making moves where playing time is a guarantee.
Overall, no there is no need to panic. But if we do not see improvement in six months’ time, then there will be huge questions asked about this squad and this manager.
