Cymru will complete the first phase of 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying with fixtures against Montenegro and Czechia next month and head coach Rhian Wilkinson is targeting top spot in the group ahead of the play-offs later this year.
The penultimate group match for Cymru takes place in Montenegro on Friday 5 June (KO 17:00 UK) before Czechia head to Cardiff for what could be a winner-takes-all match on Tuesday 9 June (KO 19:15). Still undefeated after four games, Cymru currently sit second on goal difference behind Czechia in Group B1.
Although Cymru are now guaranteed a play-off place, finishing top of the group offers a significant seeding advantage for the next stage of the qualifying campaign. Montenegro are still without a point and suffered a 6-1 defeat at Llanelli back in March, but Wilkinson will not be taking their opponents for granted in Podgorica.
Meanwhile, Czechia will look to establish themselves as group leaders ahead of the final match when they host Albania in Prague. The only points that Cymru and Czechia have dropped during the current campaign was when the two nations met in Uherské Hradiště and played out a 2-2 draw in the opening round of fixtures, with Elise Hughes scoring the late equaliser for the visitors.
Cymru boosted their goal difference by taking six points against Albania in the last round of matches in April. A 4-0 victory in Wrexham was followed a few days later by a 1-0 win in Elbasan, with defender Rhiannon Roberts scoring the only goal of the game and her second of the campaign having also scored in the 4-0 victory. Striker Hannah Cain currently tops the scoring charts with five goals.
“I think that is the mark of a good team, that on off-days – and today was an off-day – we managed to figure out a way to get three points,” explained Wilkinson after the match. “It is a hard group. We have to make sure we show up in every game, and I think we learned that today. We have got to make sure we earn the three points.”
Czechia also used the last international window to increase their goal difference as they claimed 5-0 and 4-1 victories over Montenegro to move above Cymru at the top of the group. Klára Cahynová and Michaela Khýrová have scored three goals each for Jitka Klimková’s side during these qualifiers, while nine different players have hit the target in their opening four games.
“It wasn’t our best match,” said Klimková to the official Czechia FA website following the 4-1 win. “We lacked strength in pressing, we were inaccurate and the game was unnecessarily complicated. We definitely didn’t want to concede a goal and we wanted to score more, but the most important thing is that we have two wins and six points from these two matches.”
Cymru are currently 31st in the FIFA World Rankings following their appearance at EURO 2025 last summer, while Montenegro and Czechia are yet to qualify for the finals of a major tournament. Montenegro are ranked 88th while Czechia sit just one place below Cymru in 32nd, further emphasising just how close it is at the top of the group.
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 play-off 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 latter path explains why the top spot in the group is so important for Cymru and Czechia in this phase of qualifying.
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 with the final tournament taking place in Brazil next summer.
Former Cymru Women’s National Team players are being invited to attend the match against Czechia as part of the FAW’s 150th anniversary celebrations and will be invited pitch side at half time for an opportunity to be celebrated in front of the Red Wall. The celebration is part of the launch of a former players association, being arranged by the FAW’s Head of Public Relations and Culture Ian Gwyn Hughes.
