Leading Cymru at EURO 2025 will be one of the “greatest honours” for head coach Rhian Wilkinson as she highlights the exceptional work of those who came before her in laying the foundations for the success of her team.
Speaking from UEFA Headquarters in Switzerland recently, Wilkinson praised the role of her predecessors in initiating the process that has enabled this squad of players to make history by qualifying for the finals of a major women’s tournament for the first time. “I think I’ve inherited a team at the exact right moment for them to do something special,” she explained.
“I think they’re a testament to all the people that came before and all the players that came before, and that my arrival was maybe just that kind of new coach at that right time who was able to ask them to do things that maybe in the past they weren’t ready for, and that now, they’re ready to try.”
Wilkinson replaced Gemma Grainger as Cymru head coach in February last year following Grainger’s decision to take charge of the Norwegian national team. With Cymru on the eve of the qualifying campaign for the tournament that will take place in Switzerland this summer, Wilkinson had to hit the ground running to achieve success, and her players more than delivered.
“I do think my staff has done a great job at creating an environment where error is not punished,” said Wilkinson. “It’s a safe environment where we ask them to push themselves to the limits of their ability, because why wouldn’t we? And I think having that kind of mentality can only help this Welsh team grow in confidence and grow in their own self-belief of their own level and where they should be.”
Preparation is key
Cymru will take on the Netherlands, France and England in Group D when the action kicks-off in July. Ahead of that, the side will complete their UEFA Nations League A campaign away to Denmark in Odense on 30 May before hosting Italy in Swansea on 3 June. Despite the challenge of taking on some of Europe’s elite since qualification was assured, Cymru have produced impressive performances, including two 1-1 draws against Sweden.
“The League A games have been critical,” Wilkinson explained. “I thought we had fantastic opposition in League B, it was just a different experience. Even the venues are different, so just getting the players used to the bigger stadiums again, the bigger crowds, the bigger noise and the bigger expectation.
“I also think this idea of playing teams with so many players that my players have seen on television, you almost get this idea of who those players are, and you need to be on the field with them, you need to earn the right to actually feel like you belong there. That’s what this team has been able to do through these last few games – work through some of their own individual nerves and recognise that they’re as deserving to be on that pitch as anyone else.”
The challenges ahead
Wilkinson represented Canada at the very highest-level during her own illustrious playing career, and believes her own experience of playing at major international tournaments will be important when it comes to her players adapting to an unfamiliar environment. “I’ll probably take it back to my playing experience and the first time we qualified for the Olympic Games was Beijing in 2008,” she explained.
“We had someone to come and speak to the team and they said, ‘Remember that it’s a tournament for you, and it’s the Games for the crowd, for the audience, for the spectator. Don’t get caught up in that,’ and we got caught up in it. It was such an amazing experience in terms of so many athletes, and distractions, and television, and media, and interests, that we lost perspective on why we were there.
“I think that’s something I’m very protective of now as a coach, that lesson that I learned. I look at this team, and they’re so ready to be part of a major tournament. They’ve achieved it now, so how can I help almost insulate them from the noise? For my players, this will be a tournament and it will be business, and that is a little bit of a mindset piece that they’ve never had to experience before. So, I think that will be a big part of my job during the tournament.”
Cymru pride and passion
Cymru qualified for EURO 2025 with a memorable 2-1 victory over the Republic in Ireland in Dublin last December following a 1-1 draw in Cardiff. A record attendance of 16,845 were behind Wilkinson’s team in the 1st leg of the play-off as Lily Woodham opened the scoring, but it’s the return match that generates all the emotions as Hannah Cain and Carrie Jones sealed the win to make Cymru history.
Backed by a loud and passionate travelling support, it was an incredible night of tears, joy and national pride in the Irish capital, and Wilkinson will be looking to channel that to Cymru’s advantage when the tournament begins. “I’ve never met a team that’s so passionate about where they’re from,” she added.
“This team is so connected to each other. They play with the pride of their families and with the pride of their communities. That passion I believe in the past has been a real burden because they have felt like they had to represent the nation every time they stepped onto the field. It’s got to feel like a privilege to represent your country. No-one’s forcing you to do it.
“How do you ask them to take that passion and turn it into opportunity, and tell them that no-one that is supporting them cares about the results? They just care about everything you give, and that you’re trying to do the right things, and I think re-framing that has been really important because I do feel like they carry so much with them, which is almost self-inflicted because the nation just wants them to do the best they can, and that’s all they’ve ever asked of them.”
Wilkinson has spoken openly about her Cymru family roots and her own pride in leading the country to unprecedented success. Now the challenge is to ensure her team head to Switzerland to fly the Cymru flag with the best possible preparation behind them to compete against the very best of the women’s international game. “It will be one of the greatest honours of my sporting career,” she explained. “As a player or as a coach.”
