Cymru will take on the last two winners of the tournament in England and the Netherlands together with top seeds France in Group D following the draw for the EURO 2025 Finals that took place in Lausanne, Switzerland on Monday.
Despite the formidable profile of their opponents, head coach Rhian Wilkinson has embraced the opportunity to take on the elite of the European game. “I can’t stop smiling,” she explained after the draw. “I think that all of us probably had that same reaction. It’s one of those groups with winners, with top, top teams, so we’re just excited and looking forward to the opportunities. This is why we wanted to make it. We’re up there with some of the top nations in the world and that’s what we have always talked about.
“We already had a plan in place for how we were going to start tackling breaking them down. Honestly, I’ve half given the staff Christmas off to rest and relax, but I think all of them are like me and just chomping at the bit to get going and making sure that we have a plan of action. We want to be as prepared as possible so that we’re able to show up and deliver to the best of our ability and enjoy this amazing moment in Welsh history.
Having qualified for their first major finals, Cymru will make their tournament debut against the Netherlands in Lucerne on 5 July before heading to St. Gallen for the next two games, taking on France on 9 July, and then the challenge of current holders England on 13 July. However, Wilkinson was not concerned about the potential media hype of facing the Lionesses. “I think that will be outside noise,” she added. “Obviously, it will be big for the fan base and we can’t pretend it isn’t, but all three of our opponents are top level opposition that are going to challenge us to our maximum.”
Cymru will have the opportunity to test themselves against top level opposition ahead of the tournament following their promotion to League A of the UEFA Women’s Nations League. With home and away fixtures against Italy, Denmark and Sweden between February and June next year, Wilkinson’s squad will be well prepared for their summer in Switzerland.
“It’s perfect in terms of our timing,” Wilkinson explained. “We’re going to have to learn and grow from it and not get distracted by results. It’s really easy when you play top nations to lose your reason for being there, which is to make sure that we’re improving ourselves and we continue to push our own standards and not chase results, but rather performances. I think that can only help us for the Euros.
“Wales is always and will for a long time be the underdog just by virtue of the size of our nation and our population. A lot of it is about this mentality that we really have nothing to lose. Everyone expects us to lose, so we might as well just step forward and test ourselves against these much bigger nations. We have a very strong team that that cares very deeply for one another, and that’s a dangerous thing because they never quit. The team does not know how to quit, so you have to push us the whole way.”
As a player, Wilkinson experienced the major tournament environment with the Canadian national team, competing at the Olympic Games and the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Those experiences will be crucial as she leads a squad heading into the unknown. “We don’t want to regret showing up and being too in awe of all the extras,” she explained. “Those are for other people, but because it’s our first time, I also want the players to enjoy it. There’s a fine line, so that will be for my staff and I to try and navigate.
“If you put everything on one game, you’re in big trouble. I’ve also had that experience at a World Cup where we prepared for one game more than the others, and that game did not go our way and we fell apart in the other two. We’ve got three games, so of course results are important. We can’t get away from that, but if we can focus more on performance, it keeps us really focused on the end result. I hope that I’m able to prepare them as best I can with my staff for them to be able to show the world how good they are.”
History was made during qualifying with a record home crowd of almost 17,000 coming out to support the side in the Play-Off Final against the Republic of Ireland in Cardiff. However, the legacy of appearing at a major tournament can make a significant change to the women’s game in Wales as a whole, and Wilkinson is excited for the lasting impression the achievements of her team can have. “I think these women are incredible spokespeople for the game itself,” she explained. “They’re out in the communities so often.
“I think watching them with their fans is always something really special for me and we hope that putting them on the next level of a platform, as in one of the biggest tournament stages there is, will mean that they reach more young people in Wales, girls and boys, and then we hope that becomes a catalyst for bigger change at home. It’s an opportunity and I hope very much that the team catches the imagination and the excitement of the nation, because they deserve it.”
