Wales manager Rhian Wilkinson says her side showed they can compete against the world’s best teams after their 1-1 draw in the Women’s Nations League against Sweden.
“I have a vision for this team,” Wilkinson told her post-match news conference after the surprise result. “And it’s playing teams like Sweden and living with them. It’s 50-50 in terms of possession, in terms of dangerous moments. That’s the kind of football I like.”
Wales, just over four months out from their maiden major tournament, had trailed to Filippa Angeldahl’s first-half opener in Wrexham before Kayleigh Barton converted a 75th-minute penalty — awarded for Emma Kullberg’s handball on Ceri Holland’s cross — to draw the hosts level against the 2023 World Cup semi-finalists.
“These games don’t happen by accident,” Wilkinson said. “They take so much work, effort, pain and we saw that. There were big moments of time where Sweden were all over us. Liv [Clarke] again coming out with big saves and the post, I’ll go thank the post later.
“But I hope no one saw the team over celebrating because these women deserve to be there. They’ve earned the right to compete against the best in the world and they showed that tonight.”
Tuesday night’s result confirmed Wales’ first point…
