Wales boss urges courage over fear in World Cup play-offs

Wales manager Rhian Wilkinson has urged her players to embrace courage rather than fear as they prepare for a challenging World Cup play-off campaign, with a potential tie against Norway looming. Wales must first overcome Albania in a two-legged play-off, then face either Romania or Norway to secure a place at the 2027 tournament in Brazil.

Play-off path

Wales topped League B Group 1 ahead of the Czech Republic, securing a play-off berth. They will face Albania, a team they have already beaten twice in qualifying—4-0 at home in Wrexham and 1-0 away. The first leg of round one is scheduled for 9 October away, with the return leg on 13 October in Wales. If Wales win on aggregate, they will advance to round two, where they will meet the winner of the tie between Romania and Norway. Norway, ranked 14th in the world, are managed by former Wales boss Gemma Grainger. Wales have never beaten a top-20 side in a competitive fixture.

Embracing the challenge

Wilkinson acknowledged the difficulty of facing Norway but stressed the importance of embracing such challenges. “If we want to be a side that makes major tournaments, then we have to be able to confidently show up against teams ranked higher than us and know that we're going to put in a strong performance,” she said. “Norway would be an incredible challenge, but a wonderful challenge. We can't be frightened of not showing up and giving everything. I'd like to take a more courageous stance, and I hope they (the players) follow me with it.”

Lessons from Euro 2025

Wilkinson pointed to Wales’ experience at Euro 2025, where they struggled against top teams Netherlands, France, and England, as a learning opportunity. “I think we all learned a lot through the Euros—myself, my staff, the players,” she said. “Do I wish I'd coached differently? Parts of it, absolutely. I'm sure they (the players) look back on it and think like 'what if, what if we could have...' But you don't know until you've been to a major event what it's going to be like, what the pressure feels like, what the stress feels like. We talked about it, we prepared for it, and it still blew us away, but there's confidence that comes from having done it.” She also noted Wales’ competitive performances in the Nations League A campaign, including two draws against Sweden.

Away form concerns

Wales will need to improve their away form to progress. At home, they were dominant, recording a 6-1 win over Montenegro, a 4-0 victory against Albania, and a 3-1 triumph over the Czech Republic. On the road, however, they struggled: a fortunate draw in the Czech Republic, a narrow 1-0 win in Albania, and a shock 1-1 draw in Montenegro. “We were a bit frustrated when we played Albania away (in April), but this is a good opportunity to improve our performance against a challenging opposition,” Wilkinson said. “I thought (Albania) played really well in that second leg, so they'll be tough. It'll be a good tactical battle between them and us, and who's learnt the most. It was obvious from our campaign that our away form wasn't what we wanted it to be. There's definitely some work to be done away from home. It's about showing up with the best version of ourselves.”

If Wales advance past Albania, they will likely face Norway in round two, a team ranked 39 places above Romania in the world rankings. The first leg of round two is scheduled for 1 December at home, with the away leg on 5 December. Wilkinson’s side will need to make history by beating a top-20 side in a competitive match to reach their first World Cup finals.