Rhian Wilkinson has warned Wales not to assume the job is done as they defend a 1-0 lead against Albania in the second leg of their Women’s World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final at Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli, on Tuesday (19:15 BST).
Wales are favourites to move a step closer to a first World Cup after their narrow win in Shkoder last Friday, and avoiding defeat would give them the longest unbeaten run in their history at 10 matches. The head coach, though, believes it would be foolish to think the tie is close to being settled, describing her side’s first-leg performance as one where they “got away with one”.
“That Albanian team are right on the edge of something special because they really fight for everything,” Wilkinson said. “When I speak to the older, more experienced players with Wales, they remember being that team that is ranked lower but is scrapping and fighting for everything and they get results because they catch people unaware. We’re very aware of them – this is a dangerous Albanian team. We need to make sure we don’t sit back and rest because they’re going to be knocking on the door.”
Wales are ranked 31st in the world, 37 places above Albania, and the sides’ recent meetings have been mixed. Wales thrashed Albania 4-0 during the group phase of qualifying in Wrexham in April, but then scraped a 1-0 away win in the return group match before repeating that scoreline in the play-off semi-final first leg three days ago. Wilkinson knows her players must match their opponents’ “effort and pride” if they are to triumph in Llanelli. “It will be a tough game,” she said. “It’s one where you better expect to be crawling off the field exhausted if you want to be walking away with a successful game.”
The first-leg victory matched the nine-game unbeaten record set by Wales between November 2013 and August 2014, and a positive result on Tuesday would take Wilkinson’s side past it. The head coach said she had been unaware of the potential landmark. “What a wonderful record [that would be] for me to have, but more than anything, this is about the team showing up for each other and delivering to a standard we can be proud of,” she said. “Win or lose, this is a very special team and I’ll stand with them all day. But we know we want to be better for ourselves and equally for the fans.”
Wales remain without nine regular squad members because of injury, with Olivia Clark, Hayley Ladd, Rhiannon Roberts, Ffion Morgan and Ceri Holland – arguably their most influential player since Jess Fishlock’s retirement – among the absentees. Wilkinson hopes a number of those players will be fit should Wales reach a two-legged play-off final in early December.
Norway are the likely opponents at that stage, having won 2-0 in Romania in their semi-final first leg. Even if Wales were to shock Norway, they may still have to negotiate inter-confederation play-offs next February to secure a place in Brazil, which is why Wilkinson is not yet contemplating the idea of reaching a World Cup with so many potential games remaining. “It’s one step at a time,” she said. “We don’t get ahead of ourselves [because] it’s about that peak in the distance that we’re working towards.”