Cymru’s road to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup will begin with fixtures against Czechia, Albania and Montenegro following the draw on Tuesday that placed Rhian Wilkinson’s side in Group B1.
“I think it’s an exciting draw,” said Wilkinson. “We haven’t played a lot of these teams for a long time. I think for all of us this is what football’s about, adapting and facing new opposition, so I’m looking forward to it. The dream is to qualify, but we know that there’s a lot of hard work before that.”
Cymru were in Pot 1 for the draw, although Czechia are one position higher than Wilkinson’s side in the FIFA World Rankings. While the two nations occupy places 31 and 32, Albania are currently 72nd while Montenegro are the lowest ranked nation in 85th position.
“I think this is where we’re at,” Wilkinson added. “We’re a country that should be right at the top of League B and then challenging always to get back to League A. I think this is a group that is going to test us. We’re going to have some tough games here, which is also what we need.
“If it’s too easy, then you’re not ready for the play-offs. So, I look forward to being on the ball quite a bit more than we’ve been with League A opposition. But equally, we’ve got to be better defensively. We’ve got those three windows, and we don’t need to be looking any further ahead than that.”
Cymru were relegated from League A prior to making their major tournament debut at the EURO finals in the summer, and the target now will be to top the group during these upcoming six games that will take place in March, April and June next year.
Providing Cymru don’t finish bottom of the group, they will head into the play-offs in the second half of 2026. Wilkinson will be keen for her players to rediscover that winning feeling after a difficult year that has delivered nine defeats and two draws.
“I just think we’ve got a new year ahead of us,” Wilkinson added. “We’ve had our retirements and we’ve had our friendlies. So, I’ve been able to look at a few things. I feel very confident that we’ll go into that first window excited and ready to really compete.”
Cymru have never played Albania in a senior women’s international, while the last match against Czechia took place at Rodney Parade in April 2019 and ended in a 0-0 draw as Loren Dykes made her 100th international appearance.
The last time Cymru and Montenegro were paired together was back in 2015 World Cup qualifying. Cymru claimed a comfortable 3-0 win in Montenegro in November 2013 through goals from Hannah Keryakoplis and a double from Helen Ward. Sarah Wiltshere and a Jess Fishlock hat-trick then sealed a 4-0 win at Bangor the following May.
Cymru will head into this next campaign without Fishlock following her international retirement last month, and with Kayleigh Barton also calling time on her playing career, Wilkinson will be looking to the next generation for this next international cycle.
“I think we’ve got to believe that we’re in a decent position to go for the World Cup,” she added. “I realistically think if we’re going to be bringing through our young players and giving them experience and opportunities, then the four-year cycle to the next EURO is when we’ll have the team.
“I really feel like we’ve had a taste (of a major tournament) and I would love to be able to continue to deliver that to this team and to this country. I think we showed with our fan base and with our country that we’re just ready to be at major tournaments.
“This is going to be a really tough challenge to qualify for the World Cup, but it’s never going to be easy. Part of our learning trajectory is how we handle pressure and stress, and that’s for the players, but equally for myself. We’ve done it once, now how do we do it again? That’s exciting to me.”
