Captain Angharad James says she’s relishing Cymru’s first home Women’s World Cup qualifier on Saturday afternoon as she returns to her native west Wales.
Cymru host Montenegro at Parc y Scarlets for the first time since July 2024, looking to build on a positive start to their new qualifying campaign.
James, who hails from Haverfordwest and began her footballing journey with Clarbeston Road FC, says she’s excited to see family and friends and the Red Wall as Cymru begin their tour around the country with qualifying games.
“I’m really looking forward to it, it’s like a home to me,” she said. “I love playing in Llanelli. It’s West Wales and it’s where I grew up. It’s nice to move around Wales and get different fan bases involved, inspire young girls and boys to play football and come and watch the women’s team.
“So many of my friends and family are coming to the game tomorrow and I’m looking forward to seeing so many fans there in Llanelli.
James’ return to west Wales also comes at an exciting moment for football in the country. As the FAW celebrates surpassing 20,000 registered women’s and girls’ players, grassroots clubs are being invited to wear their club kits at Cymru’s upcoming fixture.
“Putting my first grassroots team shirt back on brings back so many special memories,” James said. “They played a big part in my journey and helped me become the player I am today. I can’t wait to see teams from all over Cymru turning up in their grassroots kits to celebrate this milestone together.
“It’s important that we travel across Wales to play different games in different areas of the country so I’m looking forward to it, and hopefully we can have a lot of fans there tomorrow.
“My message to the fans would be to come out and watch the team. We are really happy with where we are as a team at the moment and we hope to put on a show tomorrow, so come with us on the journey and hopefully follow this team to the next World Cup.”
Cymru began their road to Brazil on Tuesday night with a 2-2 draw away to Czechia in Uherské Hradiště. The visitors fell behind early in the match before Hannah Cain finished a free-flowing attacking move to bring Rhian Wilkinson’s side level just before half-time. Czechia regained the lead after the break when Jana Žufanková rose at the far post to head in, leaving Cymru with an uphill task.
However, Cymru’s persistence was rewarded deep into stoppage time when substitute Elise Hughes headed in her fifth international goal from Gemma Evans’ cross, securing a vital point to open the qualifying campaign and prevent a costly defeat against the Czechs, who are expected to be their main rivals in the race to top Group B1.
“We reflected as a group and obviously we were extremely disappointed with the overall performance,” James admitted. “Upon reflection there were a lot of areas we could improve. Like Rhian said, it was the final pass and the final decision in those key moments that let us down. But we’ve reflected, regrouped and we’re ready to go again tomorrow.”
“Our disappointment was more with the performance than the result. Going away from home against a team ranked above us – a good, well-organised Czechia side that we struggled to break down – to come away with a point didn’t feel great on the night. But upon reflection it puts us in good stead for the remainder of the group and we’ll look to kick on tomorrow against Montenegro and hopefully get the three points.”
Montenegro arrive in Llanelli amid a period of progress for the national team. They earned promotion to League B after an unbeaten run in their previous campaign and began this qualifying phase with a narrow 2-1 defeat to Albania. They are currently ranked 84th in the latest FIFA standings, with Albania the other nation in Group B1 at 71st.
“We are a squad now and not just an eleven,” James added. “Everyone is fighting for their positions. We want to win every game. That shows the confidence and belief we have within the squad. I have every confidence in this group that we can go out, perform and win every game.
“We had a tough year last year with the teams we played against, but we’ve come out stronger and learned a lot in that time. Now we’re ready for Group B. Every game poses different challenges and we know tomorrow night won’t be easy. They’re a well-organised team that are dangerous from set pieces, so we have to be ready for that.”
Cymru v Montenegro
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