Rhian Wilkinson has stressed that her Wales team are ‘ready to win’ in their final two Nations League matches before a first Women’s European Championships.

Wales face Denmark on Friday night before welcoming Italy to the Swansea.com Stadium on Tuesday evening in what will be their last two matches before Wilkinson names her 23-player squad for the summer’s tournament.

After four group games against sides at the very top of European football, Wales have drawn two and lost two. Performances have been encouraging, even in defeat, with Wales showing defensive quality and a tactical nous that will serve them will in Switzerland.

Now, they need to show they can pull off a scalp against a top nation.

For head coach Wilkinson, she has no doubt that her side have the ability to do so.

“This team is ready to win, let me tell you,” Wilkinson said before the Denmark match in Odense.

“This is what these next two games are about; how do we show up and get a result? There’s no reason to hide from that, I’m excited by it.”

Captain Angharad James echoes this sentiment, highlighting the fact that performances have been far more encouraging than results so far in 2025.

“Every game is a challenging game against opposition who’ve been at Euros and World Cups in the past,” said James.

“We’re putting on performances that we can be proud of, but we still have room to be better – and we will be better.”

Having drawn twice against Sweden – a regular at the latter stages of Olympic Games, World Cups, and EUROs – and only lost by a single goal in the reverse fixtures with Denmark and Italy, Wilkinson is confident that her side her improving fast enough to compete in a difficult European Championship group.

Cymru will face France, Netherlands, and reigning champs England in what is undoubtedly the hardest group of the competition this summer.

In what is Wales’ first ever major tournament, the expectation is low from the outside. From inside the camp, the feeling is simple: Wales are out to qualify for the quarter-finals.

“This is where we want to be,” added Wilkinson.

“This team now that understands they are right where they should be, among the best in Europe in those top nations, there are frequently big scores – but these are tight margins.

“We want to keep getting better; we’re not going to celebrate getting ties against big nations – some people have said it [the draw with Sweden] could have been Wales’ best ever, but it’s only ‘so-far’ because it’s going to keep getting better.

“This team is constantly looking for more and that’s who we want to be.”

For Wilkinson, the question is whether to rotate in her final two matches before she names her tournament squad. The former Canada international has mentioned previously that she is confident of around 20 of the 23 who will be on the plane, but with a squad of 26 picked for these two fixtures, there are spots up for grabs.

Not only will fringe players be out to impress, but squad regulars will also be keen to nail down a starting spot in the coming matches.

One area of focus is goalkeeper. Rhian Wilkinson has previously stated that Leicester City goalkeeper Olivia Clark is her number one in the position, but Safia Middleton-Patel’s player of the match performance last time out in Sweden has put a question mark on that.

Add in Laura O’Sullivan’s unfortunate ACL injury, and Wales’ third choice is Aston Villa shot stopper Saffia Kelly who has only just signed her first professional contract having turned 18.

It is easy to escape the fact that Wales need to most likely win both matches this window to stay in Nations League A and continue facing the best of European international football.

Captain James is fully focused on this goal.

“If we get a result it puts in good stead going into Tuesday (against Italy),” said the Seattle Reign midfielder.

“This is where we want to be. We want to play against the best teams in the world as often as we can to see how far we’ve come and, sometimes, how far we need to go.

“It’s been a journey for us but it’s not over yet. We fully believe we can remain in League A.”

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