Wales seek clean sheet in World Cup play-off first leg in Shkoder
Rhian Wilkinson has set a clean sheet as the priority for Wales in the Women's World Cup play-off semi-final first leg against Albania at the 16,000-capacity Loro Borici Stadium in Shkoder on Friday, 9 October at 17:00 BST.
Wilkinson, who led Wales to Euro 2025 — the first women's major tournament in the nation's history — said keeping a clean sheet is the immediate objective as her side prepare for the two-legged tie. Wales beat Albania twice during the group stage of World Cup qualifying in April, recording a 4-0 home win followed by a 1-0 victory away. The squad have been hit by a run of injuries ahead of the fixture, disrupting selection for the back-to-back play-off.
Wales are missing nine regular squad members for the next stage of their World Cup bid: Olivia Clark, Poppy Soper, Rhiannon Roberts, Hayley Ladd, Ella Powell, Laura Hughes, Mia Ross, Ffion Morgan and Ceri Holland. Aside from back-up keeper Soper, all those players would have been contenders to play some part in the two Albania ties. On what would represent a positive first leg, Wilkinson said: "I'll stick with a clean sheet and a strong performance." She added: "I think what I would say is that this is home and away, back-to-back play-off and we've had some experiences with this. "We continue to grow through those and it's about taking care of delivering a performance away and then making sure we come home and deliver another one in the next few days."
The long injury list has given Wales a youthful look for the trip, with six uncapped players in the travelling party: goalkeepers Soffia Kelly and Lucy Farrell-Shrouder, centre-back Cadi Rodgers, wide player Heidi Hills and forwards Casi Gregson and Olivia Francis. Other squad members such as Scarlett Hill, Phoebie Poole, Tianna Teisar and Chloe Williams have only a handful of international appearances between them. Wilkinson insisted the inexperienced players are "absolutely" ready and said: "They've trained with a great intensity, they've done their work off the pitch and really involved themselves in meetings," she added. "They've done everything they can to put themselves in the best possible position to get minutes."
Wales topped their qualifying group courtesy of a rousing home win over the Czech Republic in the final game of that stage in June, while also beating Albania in Wrexham and thumping Montenegro in a home group fixture. Their away form was less convincing, with draws against the Czechs and in Montenegro either side of the triumph in Albania. Albania are ranked 68th in the world, 37 places below Wales, and Wilkinson warned of a stern test: "I think we I've spoken quite honestly [about how in] the second group game against them, they definitely could have scored at least once or twice," she added. "I expect it to be a resilient performance from both teams, to stick in it and try to bring our best versions of ourselves. They give everything for their badge like we will for ours, so it'll be a tough match."
The prize for progressing past Albania is a two-legged World Cup play-off final against either Norway or Romania in early December, with Wales described as underdogs against Gemma Grainger's Norway side should they reach that stage. At this point Wales do not know if wins over Albania and Norway would be enough to seal a World Cup place; there will be eight European play-off winners, with seven progressing straight to Brazil and one — the lowest-ranked nation from the group stage of qualifying — going into inter-confederation play-offs next February. On whether the play-off process should be simplified 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."
Women's World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final Friday, 9 October at 17:00 BST Live on BBC iPlayer, BBC Two Wales, BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales Extra, Radio Cymru, BBC Sport website and app, plus live text commentary. The tie concludes with the return leg next Tuesday in Llanelli.
