Wales showed they can compete against world’s best in Sweden draw – Rhian Wilkinson
Wales manager Rhian Wilkinson says her side showed they can compete against the world’s best teams after their 1-1 draw in the Women’s Nations League against Sweden.
“I have a vision for this team,” Wilkinson told her post-match news conference after the surprise result. “And it’s playing teams like Sweden and living with them. It’s 50-50 in terms of possession, in terms of dangerous moments. That’s the kind of football I like.”
Wales, just over four months out from their maiden major tournament, had trailed to Filippa Angeldahl’s first-half opener in Wrexham before Kayleigh Barton converted a 75th-minute penalty — awarded for Emma Kullberg’s handball on Ceri Holland’s cross — to draw the hosts level against the 2023 World Cup semi-finalists.
“These games don’t happen by accident,” Wilkinson said. “They take so much work, effort, pain and we saw that. There were big moments of time where Sweden were all over us. Liv [Clarke] again coming out with big saves and the post, I’ll go thank the post later.
“But I hope no one saw the team over celebrating because these women deserve to be there. They’ve earned the right to compete against the best in the world and they showed that tonight.”
Tuesday night’s result confirmed Wales’ first point of their Nations League A campaign in just their second match. The same feat took Wales until the final match of their previous campaign in the top-tier, when they drew goalless with Germany.
The result is a measure of the distance this team has travelled, but more so the performance. While Sweden could boast the best chances and possession (64%), Wales had more shots (8) and shots on target (2) to Sweden (7 shots, one on target).
‘Wales almost in dreamland’
Given how Wilkinson’s sanguine yet stoic tone melded with the still pulsing beat of Zombie Nation on the other side of the white walls of Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground, it was difficult not to get swept up in the Wales head coach’s dreamscape. Because at 75 minutes as Barton converted her penalty to draw Wales level, the line between reality and dream blurred a little.
And there Wales were, bounding forward moments later, Holland’s strike forcing Sweden keeper Jennifer Falk into a diving save whose rebound very nearly finds Jess Fishlock. And in the dreamscape, it does. And Wales are 2-1 against the fifth-best team in the world and something magical is happening.
In reality, the rebound nips behind Fishlock and the Racecourse releases its breath. But rather than ferment into a low block of desperate defending, Wales continue playing. And here, dream is reality again. Because Wales have the faint taste of blood in their nostrils, the Racecourse is high on fumes and unsynchronised vuvuzelas and why not? In five months time, Wales will confront England (ranked fourth in the world), Netherlands (10th) and France (11th) in the group stages at Euro 2025 in Switzerland, Wales’ first-ever major tournament. If they can smell blood on Sweden, what might the summer hold?
Wilkinson can count Tuesday’s draw as a fine measure of the distance travelled in her Wales tenure. This time last year, long-time manager Gemma Grainger departed to take over Norway, leaving a then-perennial almost-team in the lurch months before the start of the Euro 2025 qualifying campaign. On February 26, Wilkinson was appointed and what has transpired is a rush of history.
But the spaces in between these headlines are arguably more important. A team that was previously moulded in the shape of long-term talisman Fishlock now has the makeup of a squad.
Wilkinson made five changes from the side that lost 1-0 to Italy in Monza on Friday, then proceeded to make five substitutions, including three at half-time (Fishlock, Hannah Cain and Rhiannon Roberts for Lois Joel, Carrie Jones and Charlie Estcourt). It is the same number of substitutions she made on Friday.
The rotation is in stark contrast to Wilkinson’s predecessor. Wilkinson’s faith in players such as Mayzee Davies and Josie Green to move into the centre-back role alongside Gemma Evans has allowed Hayley Ladd to move into her usual berth in midfield, allowing for a more cohesive attack and control when playing out from the back. Both Davies and Green were named player of the match following their performances.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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