Two former Adran Premier players in latest Wales squad

Wales manager Rhian Wilkinson has named two former Adran Premier players in her latest squad.

Plymouth Argyle duo Phoebie Poole and Olivia Francis, formerly of Cardiff City and Pontypridd United respectively, are both named in the Wales squad for the final friendlies of the year.

Francis has been a part of the senior setup before while Poole was part of training squad under Gemma Grainger, but this will be the first time that two players who started in the Adran Premier are part of the senior team together.

Wilkinson said she was pleased to have both on board and said it showed where a career in the Adran Premier can take players.

“I want to be very clear about the Adran Premier. I think it is such an important piece of the footballing landscape in Wales. I’m a huge supporter of it.

“To have a country where women can play to the highest possible level is really important. I come from Canada, and we’ve only just got a league this past year. It’s not yet the feeder league to the national team, but that is just one piece of a puzzle.

“What is great is that young players or players with potential are coming through the league and then moving on to the next stage where they can be invited to the national teams.

“Both Phoebie and Olivia have earned it and I’m looking forward to them coming in as training players in order for them to show what they can give.”

There’s also a first call-up for midfielder Laura Hughes.

Hughes plays for Melbourne City and already has one senior Australian cap to her name, which came in a friendly against Chinese Taipei last year.

The Canberra native’s call-up is another example of the FAW’s commitment to finding players with Welsh heritage from all over the world, and Wilkinson is delighted to have Hughes on board.

“Laura is a really exciting player. I believe her ancestry history is in Gwent, but she was telling me that her grandfather lives in Porthcawl and that she’s spent many holidays here.

“We’ve had our eyes on her for a little while and had some good communication with her. She’s a midfielder who can bring a bit of bite to this team.

“She’s got great vision and on the ball skills too, so we’re looking forward to integrating her and giving her this opportunity to show what she can do.

“Laura has made a commitment to us. I gave her the option of coming in, meet the team and be a training player, but she said no and that she wants to play for Wales. The paperwork is being done, but she is clear with her messages, and she will fully commit to Wales no matter what.”

Elsewhere, a number of first team players have returned. Ella Powell, Rhiannon Roberts, Lily Woodham, Esther Morgan and Rachel Rowe all return to the fold after injury ruled them all out of the last camp.

Amy Richardson, Gwen Zimmerman, Teagan Scarlett and Scarlett Hill will be part of the U19 squad ahead of their qualifiers, while Lois Joel and Alice Griffiths also miss out.

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United youngsters

Two Manchester United players are in this Wales squad, and both have had contrasting starts to the season.

For goalkeeper Safia Middleton-Patel, it’s been a fantastic start. With number one Phallon Tullis-Joyce out injured, the Welsh shot stopper is having a good run of game time, something that pleases the manager.

“We have a challenging situation in Wales where we have two strong goalkeepers who should be contending for starting roles.

“Saf has got her opportunity because of an injury, which is unfortunate, but she put in a fantastic performance against PSG and then had some tough moments against Man City. That’s the challenge of being a first-choice keeper.

“You have to be able to ride the waves of the challenge and show up again and deliver to the highest possible standard. I’m looking forward to her getting another opportunity and showing everyone what we already know in Wales.”

It’s a different story for Mared Griffiths. Having been named Player of the Match against Australia, the versatile Griffiths has not seen any first team minutes with her club, despite many supporters clamouring for her.

Wilkinson knows there is a good chunk of the squad that aren’t getting regular minutes at club level, and she hopes the promising Griffiths can get on the pitch sooner rather than later.

“I know that I come at this with a bias. Marc Skinner has a squad he has to manage, and he’s got his challenges. For me, I’m always going to advocate for my players, and I want them all playing.

“Mared is a senior team member now, that’s where I think she deserves to be and it’s where her standard is. I hope that, if she can continue to deliver for Wales, that she will get her opportunities at Man United.”

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Ending on a High

These will be Wales’ final games of what has been a tough year.

Despite qualifying for Euro 2025, Cymru have failed to win any of their games this year, meaning their last victory was against the Republic of Ireland in the playoff final last December.

Ahead of games against Switzerland and an unknown opponent, Wilkinson highlighted what she wanted to see from her team to round out the year.

“I have purposedly made our schedule very difficult. We’re playing at the highest level, and we still want to win.

“The Poland game was the most frustrating for me because I felt, no matter who we put on the field, that there’s a performance level that I expect now. I didn’t think we reached that against them.

“Of course we want to be winning, but there’s a base line of our standards now that I expect to reach. I thought we kept dipping below that against Poland, but I love the fact that we have two more chances this year to work on us.

“Consistency in our performances is what we need to look for. We have a young generation coming through that we need to push into the senior team, and they need to be delivering to that standard.”

WALES SQUAD TO FACE TBC AND SWITZERLAND

Olivia Clark (Leicester City), Safia Middleton-Patel (Manchester United), Poppy Soper (Rugby Borough)

Annie Wilding (Portsmouth), Ella Powell (Bristol City), Rhiannon Roberts (Sunderland), Hayley Ladd (Everton), Gemma Evans (Liverpool), Charlie Estcourt (DC Power), Lily Woodham (Liverpool), Esther Morgan (Bristol City)

Ceri Holland (Liverpool), Sophie Ingle (Bristol City), Mia Ross (Charlton Athletic), Laura Hughes (Melbourne City), Angharad James (Seattle Reign), Carrie Jones (IFK Norrköping), Mared Griffiths (Manchester United), Rachel Rowe (Nottingham Forest)

Tianna Teisar (Plymouth Argyle), Olivia Francis (Plymouth Argyle), Phoebie Poole (Plymouth Argyle), Hannah Cain (Leicester City), Ffion Morgan (West Ham United), Elise Hughes (Crystal Palace), Mary McAteer (Charlton Athletic)

(Featured Image: Ashley Crowden/FAW)