Cymru will take on Albania in the opening play-off round for a place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil and head coach Rhian Wilkinson is excited about the challenges ahead.
The draw for the play-offs took place at UEFA HQ in Nyon on Thursday with the two-legged tie scheduled to take place on the 9 and 13 October. As a result of winning Group B1, Cymru will be away in Albania for the first match and will then have home advantage for the deciding fixture.
Albania will provide familiar opposition for Cymru as the two nations were paired together in the qualifying group. Cymru won both games against their play-off opponents with a 1-0 win in Elbasan following on from a convincing 4-0 victory in Wrexham in April. The two nations had not previously played against each other, and Wilkinson will not allow her squad to take them granted despite the results earlier this year.
“I think it was obvious from our campaign that our away form wasn’t what we wanted it to be,” explained Wilkinson following the draw. “But we ended our campaign well and playing like the kind of football that we like to play and with the confidence that I was proud of. So hopefully we can keep that momentum going, but there’s definitely some work to be done away from home.
“Our standards are high, and they should be. Albania really pushed us, definitely in the away match, but equally at home in moments. Our confidence will be high, but they know us as well, right? They will have learned a lot from playing us, so it will be a good tactical battle between them and us, not just who’s learned the most, but equally, who can put it all together on the pitch on the day.”
Should Cymru progress, Wilkinson’s side will take on either Romania or Norway in Round 2 for a place at the World Cup finals. The two-legged decider will take place on 1 and 5 December ahead of the tournament that will take place in Brazil next summer, although an additional inter-confederation play-off will be required in February 2027 for the lowest-ranked Round 2 winner.
“This is why we spent 2025 playing some of the best nations in the world,” Wilkinson added. “I would say we’ve had some good results and good performances against top nations. Norway would be an incredible challenge, but equally, that’s what we’re aiming towards. If we want to be making major tournaments those are the teams we’re going to be playing.
“On any given day I think we can compete against top nations, we’ve just got to make sure that it’s on the day that we’re playing the top nations! But first, we have to get through Albania, and equally, they (Norway) need to get through Romania. I think the most important thing is that we don’t look too far ahead. There’s work to be done.”
The Round 2 draw for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Play-Offs
Former Cymru head coach Gemma Grainger is the current head coach of Norway and was Wilkinson’s predecessor in the role. Grainger was appointed Cymru head coach in March 2021 and departed in January 2024 to take charge of the Norwegian national team. Her side then reached the quarter-finals at EURO 2025 before losing to Italy. Meanwhile, Wilkinson spent most of her club career in Norway.
“Gemma’s a fantastic manager,” Wilkinson explained. “Obviously, she was with Wales before I was and then took on Norway. Football is a small world, and women’s football is an even smaller world. Most of her staff in Norway I know because I lived there for a long time and a lot of her staff also came from Wales. This is all very connected, but equally, that is pretty much the story of most nations.
“Gemma’s a wonderful coach and you can see that through her record. It’s just a new challenge, the latest challenge ahead of me, but her history with Wales and mine with Norway can’t be part of it. That’s not a very helpful storyline, I don’t think. Instead, it’s a top nation ranked well above us who is going to give us a wonderful challenge. If we want to be at major events, we’ve got to be able to play the big teams.”
Cymru qualified for EURO 2025 under Wilkinson with a play-off victory over the Republic of Ireland, and she believes that experience will be key for her players this time around. “It’s hugely important,” said Wilkinson. “Until you’ve done it, it seems so unachievable or unattainable. Then all of a sudden, you’ve done that.
“The Republic of Ireland are a fantastic team, so being able to go to Dublin and manage to play well enough away to get that win and to make history there I think will have given the team a lot of confidence. That is something that I want us to remember that home or away, it’s about us and it’s about us showing up and being the best version of ourselves.
“There is nothing for us to shy away from, it’s only exciting energy of the possibility and the potential. I think that is a pretty powerful thing to use with the players because we don’t have anything to be fearful of. We very infrequently have had success, so we might as well not be frightened of showing up and giving everything. It seems like the most courageous stance, and I hope they follow me with it.”
