Cymru take on Albania twice in the space of five days in what could be a pivotal week for Rhian Wilkinson’s side in 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying.
The two nations have never met in a senior women’s international before and Cymru will have home advantage for the opening match as Albania visit the STōK Cae Ras in Wrexham on Tuesday, 14 April (KO 19:15). The return match then takes place in Elbasan on Saturday, 18 April (KO 17:00 UK).
Cymru currently sit top of Group B1 having taken four points from their opening two games, while Albania are in third position behind Czechia on three points. All three nations are in play-off positions, but finishing as group winners would mean avoiding a team from Group A in the play-off semi-finals.
The campaign began for Cymru with a potentially difficult test away to Czechia last month and the side had to come from behind twice to salvage a point in a 2-2 draw. Eva Bartoňová opened the scoring for the home side on 16 minutes before Hannah Cain levelled on the half hour mark. However, Jana Žufánková restored Czechia’s lead early in the second half.
The introduction of Elise Hughes would prove crucial for Cymru as the striker equalised deep into added time. “It’s amazing to score for Wales,” said Hughes after the match. “The more I can do it the better it is for the team. I’m just glad we got something on the board, and I could contribute to that. You never know how important a point is going to be.”
Montenegro provided the opposition at Llanelli a few days later and a dominant performance followed as Cymru claimed a 6-1 victory. Cain and Mared Griffiths both scored twice with Rachel Rowe and Sophie Ingle also adding their names to the scoresheet, and not even a consolation goal from Armisa Kuč could dampen the atmosphere.
Griffiths now has three goals from her six senior appearances and only turned 19 on the day of the draw with Czechia. Meanwhile, Cain has now scored in each of her last three games for Cymru. “I am absolutely buzzing,” said Cain after the win. “It was a really good performance and hopefully we can take that into the next camp now.”
Albania opened their qualifying campaign with a 2-1 win away to Montenegro thanks to two goals from key midfielder Megi Doçi. The 29-year-old is the all-time record appearance holder and goalscorer for her country, and with Qëndresa Krasniqi injured for this international window she will be the player that Cymru will need to watch closely.
Despite the positive start to the group, Albania then slipped to a 5-1 defeat at home to Czechia a few days later. Czechia are Cymru’s main rivals for top spot in the group which highlights the potential importance of Hughes’s late equaliser when the two sides met last month. Czechia now play bottom side Montenegro home and away.
Albania head coach Armir Grimaj has been in position since 2016. The 51-year-old is a former goalkeeper who made four senior international appearances for his country. As a nation, Albania has never qualified for a major women’s tournament and currently sit 71st in the FIFA World Rankings.
“They’ve got a few really excellent players,” said Cymru head coach Rhian Wilkinson last week. “On any given day, if you don’t show up, you’ll be punished. On paper I think that we are the favourites in those games, but we will need to show up.”
This will be Cymru’s first match in Wrexham since February 2025 when a penalty from Kayleigh Barton earned the side an impressive 1-1 draw with Sweden in the UEFA Nations League. Over 6,000 fans were in attendance that night and Wilkinson spoke about the importance of taking the side across the country.
“I love going around Wales,” she explained. “It’s invaluable to be out in the community and to be visible to young girls. We’ve got 20,000 female players now across the country and we want them to be able to come to our games and not just have to travel to Cardiff.”
The FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy
For Cymru to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, they will need to do so via the play-offs. In addition, promotion and relegation will also be at stake ahead of the next UEFA Women’s Nations League, beginning the 2027–29 competition cycle, which will then lead into UEFA Women’s EURO 2029.
Following the group stage, 32 teams enter two paths. Path 1 pairs League A runners‑up and third‑placed sides with League C winners, while Path 2 matches League A fourth‑placed teams and League B winners with League B runners‑up and third‑placed sides.
The sixteen winners will then advance to Round 2 for the final eight play-off games. Seven of the winners will directly qualify, while the lowest‑ranked winner from Round 2 will enter the inter‑confederation play‑offs. The UEFA entrants directly enter these play-offs at Phase 2 in February 2027.
