Rhian Wilkinson has identified a clean sheet as Wales’ first target for Friday’s Women’s World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final first leg against Albania at the Loro Borici Stadium in Shkoder. The return leg is next Tuesday in Llanelli, with Wales bidding to move a step closer to a first World Cup.
Wales beat Albania twice during the group stage of World Cup qualifying in April, following a 4-0 home victory with a scrappy 1-0 success away. Albania are ranked 68th in the world, 37 places below Wales, but Wilkinson expects another stern examination against “a team that really knows what their strengths are”. She also recalled that Albania could have scored at least once or twice in the second group meeting, and predicted a resilient contest in which both teams give everything for their badge.
Wilkinson’s preparations have been complicated by a string of injuries. Wales are without nine regular squad members: Olivia Clark, Poppy Soper, Rhiannon Roberts, Hayley Ladd, Ella Powell, Laura Hughes, Mia Ross, Ffion Morgan and Ceri Holland, who has been Wales’ most influential performer since Jess Fishlock’s retirement. Apart from back-up goalkeeper Soper, all would have been contenders to play some part in the two Albania ties.
The absences give Wales a youthful look, with six uncapped players and several others with minimal international experience involved. The uncapped group in Albania consists of goalkeepers Soffia Kelly and Lucy Farrell-Shrouder, centre-back Cadi Rodgers, wide player Heidi Hills and forwards Casi Gregson and Olivia Francis. Scarlett Hill, Phoebie Poole, Tianna Teisar and Chloe Williams are among those with only a handful of caps.
Wilkinson admitted nine injuries were out of the norm and said Wales must adapt. “If I could have had no injuries I would have, but equally this is football and we adapt and we are a small country,” she said. She added that being able to put together a 23-player squad with strength and a lot of experience was a positive, and insisted the inexperienced players are “absolutely” ready if required. “They’ve trained with a great intensity, they’ve done their work off the pitch and really involved themselves in meetings,” Wilkinson said. “They’ve done everything they can to put themselves in the best possible position to get minutes.”
Wales topped their qualifying group after a rousing home win over the Czech Republic in June. They also thumped Montenegro at home, but their away form was less convincing, with draws against the Czechs and in Montenegro either side of the victory in Albania.
The prize for beating Albania is a two-legged World Cup play-off final against either Norway or Romania in early December. Wales would start as underdogs against Gemma Grainger’s Norway if they get that far. At this stage, Wales do not know whether wins over Albania and Norway would be enough to seal a World Cup place: there will be eight European play-off winners, seven of whom progress directly to Brazil, while the lowest-ranked nation from the group stage of qualifying goes into inter-confederation play-offs next February.
Asked whether the play-off process should be simpler, Wilkinson said: “This is above my pay grade. What I will say is it doesn’t help to get stuck in what could be or what comes afterwards. There’s different scenarios here, but it’s not for us to change that. For right now, this is our path and we’ll just keep taking care of what’s in front of us one step at a time.”