Wales do not do it the easy way, do they?

Over two legs in Cardiff and Dublin, the team battled their way to a historic milestone: qualification to a first ever major tournament as they stunned the Republic of Ireland in front of two successive record crowds.

A tight, tense 1-1 draw in Cardiff meant the hopes of a nation rested on Rhian Wilkinson and her team beating a streetwise Irish side in their own backyard.

Goals from Hannah Cain and Carrie Jones gave Wales a 2-0 lead early in the second half, before the Welsh defence rode out an Irish storm of pressure in the dying minutes to hold on for a 2-1 win and qualification to next year’s tournament in Switzerland.

The scenes of jubilation in Dublin as the Wales squad celebrated with the away fans – who could be heard throughout the night over the din of a record Irish crowd – evoked those of the men’s side in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015.

Years in the making

This glorious moment for Welsh women’s football was not made in a weekend, nor was it a case of the stars aligning.

This is a story of hard work from everyone connected to Welsh football, from former coaches including Jayne Ludlow and Gemma Grainger, to players such as Helen Ward, Gwennan Harries, and Laura McAllister, and the countless unnamed administrators and grassroots organisers who have fought for women’s football in the pre-professional era.

In the nine months since Wales beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0 in a friendly at the Tallaght Stadium, the Wales team had gone through a significant period of change.

That night, Seattle Reign duo Lily Woodham and Jess Fishlock scored the goals as Wales were managed by interim boss Jon Grey, following the shock departure of previous head coach Grainger.

Grainger had done an exceptional job during her three years on the job, taking Wales to the brink of World Cup qualification in 2022.

Following an excellent qualification group stage where Wales went unbeaten against sides apart from France, Fishlock once again starred in the first round of the play-offs, scoring a spectacular volley to beat Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Five days later, Wales suffered heartbreak in Zurich as their hosts for 2025 denied them a place at the 2023 World Cup thanks to a last-gasp winner from Fabienne Humm.

Surprise Loss

The former England U17 coach caught the eye of Norway, however, and left Wales in January ahead of an important qualification campaign.

Fast forward to the spring, and Rhian Wilkinson knew the scale of the task ahead of her.

Wales have a crop of exceedingly talented players – Fishlock, Sophie Ingle, Hayley Ladd, Angharad James, Rachel Rowe – who are all in the prime of their careers and would not have a better opportunity to achieve the dream of playing at a major tournament than the first few months of Wilkinson’s tenure.

She had also inherited a group of young players – Ffion Morgan, Alice Griffiths, Olivia Clark, Lily Woodham, Carrie Jones, Hannah Cain – that had developed in a world of professionalism in the women’s game and were ready to take the step up.

Good Start

Wilkinson’s reign would start in excellent fashion. Thrown immediately into qualifying for the 2025 European Championships, Wales flourished under the former Portland Thorns boss, beating Croatia and Kosovo 4-0 and 0-6 in her first two matches.

Two frustrating draws against Ukraine where the women in red dominated only to concede goals on the break were slight setbacks, but victories over Croatia and Kosovo meant Wales qualified for the play-offs by topping their group.

Wilkinson had installed a back-three system, with Hayley Ladd flanked by Rhiannon Roberts and Gemma Evans, Ceri Holland and Lily Woodham the hard-working wingbacks, and skipper Angharad James and Sophie Ingle forming as solid a double-pivot as it is possible to have at international level.

In the forward line, a number of players rotated but one was constant: Jess Fishlock.

First Real Test

A two-legged tie with Slovakia was next. With Ingle out due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, Griffiths slotted in next to James.

The eastern European outfit are significantly further behind Wales in their development as a football team, but one would not have known it from the first leg.

Two brilliant goals by Mária Mikolajová and Martina Šurnovská just after halftime looked to have buried Wales before Ffion Morgan’s late consolation gave her side a lifeline.

Back at the Cardiff City Stadium, goals from Jess Fishlock – who had become Wales’ all-time top scorer with her strike against Kosovo in July – and Liverpool’s Ceri Holland put Wales on the brink of a first major tournament in their history.

Ireland Stand in the way

All roads, therefore, lead to Ireland. An Ireland side with similar levels of quality and no shortage of experience – while Wales were watching the 2023 World Cup from afar, Ireland were playing a big part.

Despite exiting the tournament at the group stage, Ireland pushed Australia and Canada – two of the pre-tournament favourites – all the way, showing that they had quality and resilience in abundance.

The first leg in Cardiff was a game that ebbed and flowed nicely, with the two teams taking and relinquishing control at times.

Both sides looked to hit the channels: Ireland sticking to their plan, Wales looking a little nervous early on.

The home side settled quickly, however, and scored the first goal of the game through a lovely move down the right. Holland set Fishlock away and the playmaker’s cross found its way all the way to the back post where Woodham slammed the ball home.

Wales had grown into the game and settled into their patient possession style, with Ladd and James dominating proceedings.

Ireland, though, are famed for their determination and showed it. Ruesha Littlejohn picked up a loose ball 35 yards from goal and struck a looping, dipping effort on goal. Olivia Clark in the Wales goal did incredibly well to tip the ball onto the bar, only for the ball to rebound back off the bar, hit her on the back of the head, and trickle in.

Within a blink of an eye, Ireland were level, and Wales were noticeably rocked by the equalizer. The halftime whistle blew at the right time for Wales and Wilkinson was able to organise her side. A tense second half played to a stalemate, leaving it all to play for in Dublin.

Dublin Delight

16,845 fans had turned out for Wales in Cardiff and over 25,000 were in Dublin for the deciding match.

Wales again looked slightly daunted by the occasion, with Ireland going closest in a goalless first period, as Denise O’Sullivan struck the crossbar from outside the box, and Clark made a smart save from Julie Russell.

Wales had the best opportunity to break the deadlock five minutes into the second half, as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) spotted a handball from defender Anna Patten from a Wales freekick.

Hannah Cain, who had only returned to football after 330 days out with a second ACL injury in as many years, stepped up and rolled the ball home, sending Courtney Brosnan the wrong way.

Five minutes later, Rachel Rowe’s excellent cross from the left had Cain inches from a second.

With over half an hour plus added time still to play, Wilkinson recognised that Wales would need more than just a solitary goal to win the tie. On came Ceri Holland and Carrie Jones, both excellent technicians and tireless runners, for Cain and Fishlock.

In previous years, the withdrawal of Fishlock – replaced due a hamstring injury – would have dramatically hampered Wales’s attacking capabilities, but here they thrived in transition.

Captain James had another gift-wrapped chance to double the lead, but her effort was well saved by Courtney Brosnan.

Within two minutes after the double substitution, Wales doubled their advantage as Woodham’s perfect pass found Fishlock’s replacement Jones, who kept her composure to find the bottom corner from 20 yards out.

Riding the storm

A second Welsh goal deflated the home side, but there was still time for a late onslaught. On came Megan Campbell, who possesses a long throw to rival that of the legendary Rory Delap and for 20 minutes or more the game seemed to fall into a pattern of long throws cleared by increasingly dramatic means.

The tension increased exponentially until Patten atoned for her handball error with a goal – reacting quickest with a smart header after Roberts had cleared the ball off the line.

Ireland thought they had levelled when a long throw caused chaos in the Welsh defence, but they scrambled the ball away centimetres from it crossing the line with Clark beaten, before Roberts’ incredible block denied substitute Leanne Kiernan and captain Katie McCabe’s shot deflected inches over and onto the roof of the net.

Only sport can make eight minutes feel like a lifetime but, as the second ticked by, seemingly slower by the minutes, Wales’s heroic defence held out, sparking scenes that brought a tear to the eyes of all those watching, either back home or in Dublin.

As the squad celebrated with the travelling contingent of supporters, the emotional scenes will live long in the memory for anyone lucky enough to have been there.

With attention now turned to a summer in the Alps, Wales have the opportunity to inspire a generation in the same way England did in 2022 or Ireland a year later.

For many fans, just being able to see the likes of James, Ingle, and Fishlock strut their stuff on the biggest stage is more than enough reward for the hard work of recent years.

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