Three lessons for Wales as they prepare to take on Sweden in the Nations League
Cardiff, Wales 04 April 2025. UEFA Women's Nations League A Group Four match between Wales and Denmark.
Wales were defeated 2-1 by Denmark at Cardiff City Stadium, as they reached the halfway point of their Nations League campaign.
Denmark took the lead early through Signe Bruun, before Ceri Holland managed to pull Wales back level with a fine finish, but Amalie Vangsgaard scored the winner in the 71st minute to keep Wales bottom of their Nations League group.
The visitors made it hard work for Rhian Wilkinson’s side, who sit 19 places above them in the FIFA Rankings, and the quality showed.
As we look ahead to tomorrow’s game against Sweden, here are three things we learned from the defeat against the Danes.
Ceri Holland’s absence
Undoubtedly player of the match, Holland was Wales’s starlight of the night, netting her sixth international goal of her career. Despite being deployed on the right side of the midfield three, early on Holland found herself slotting in at fullback to support Rhiannon Roberts, with Danish duo Sara Holmgaard and Pernille Harder eager to run in behind Wales’s backline.
Holland broke free of her shackles once Wales settled into the tie at the 30-minute mark, and the visitors instantly felt her presence, with her clinical strike in the 34th minute giving life to the Cardiff crowd.
The Liverpool star’s marauding runs down the right flank exposed opposite Katrine Veje for the rest of the night, turning the Dane inside out on multiple occasions. To the despair of the Welsh fans, Holland saw her night end early as she was forced to depart in what looked like a horror collision, but thankfully, the injury is not as bad as first feared.
Rhian Wilkinson said: “She was excellent. She has been the last few games. I think she is a player who gives everything, she puts her body on the line. She was in a lot of pain and discomfort, so clearly, we’ll make sure she’s getting the best possible care and then we’ll deal with it as we know what it is.”
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Blunt in the Box: Wales struggle to capitalise in attack
It was a difficult night for Welsh forward line. There were multiple key chances for them that they couldn’t convert and now the games are running out for them to keep their League A status. Rhian Wilkinson will need to consider making changes to her front line to find a regular source of goals which can front their survival bid.
Striker Ffion Morgan endured a difficult night partly due to the brilliance of Stine Ballisager, who shepherded the 24-year-old out of the game, but her teammates just couldn’t connect with her on the night.
In the 71st minute, Hannah Cain had a one-on-one opportunity with Danish keeper Maja Bay Østergaard but it was hard for them in front of goal, with the ball ending up in the host’s net 28 seconds later; Amalie Vangsgaard beating the offside trap and coolly slotting the ball past Olivia Clark to win the game.
On her side’s struggle in front of goal, Wilkinson said the following: “I’m never going to say anything other than we we’re going for a win, and it’s painful to lose. But equally, we went for it. We put it all on the line, and some games go your way and some don’t. But I didn’t think we had enough top opportunities in this game to say we should have won.
“And Hannah’s frustrated, she should be. She’s a forward, but equally, she had a great game, she gave everything, and I was really pleased with her performance tonight.”
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Defensive lapses cost Cymru
A tie against Denmark is tough enough, but going 1-0 down inside ten minutes due to an defensive error made the affair a real uphill battle. Denmark’s opener saw the ball trickle across the edge of the box, waiting for a Welsh player to be alert to the danger and clear the ball out of harm’s way, but it didn’t happen, and they paid the price.
Both goals conceded on Friday night were easily preventable. The second came from a counterattack; a smart bit of game management, but tactical foul to stop play would’ve kept Cymru in the match, especially as they were growing in confidence and pushing for a winner. Between both games, Wilkinson will be keen to iron out this crease if she wants to find that elusive victory.
Despite the negative result she still took full responsibility for the defeat, suggesting the mistakes came from her front-footed tactics:
“This is a growing nation. The courage, the women played with, I think we grew into the game. You know, they make little errors in dangerous parts of the field because I asked them to. I asked them to play right on the edge, because why how else are we going to learn? And that’s what they did all game, and I think we really had them on the back foot for moments.”
