Wales Women Euro 2025 squad: The debutants make history

The Wales Women Euro 2025 squad are out of the tournament but they made history.

The team were at their first major tournament and Jess Fishlock scored their first goal against France.

But they failed to land a blow against rivals England in their final game.

Wales Women's Euros squad

Wales Women Euro 2025 squad

The squad for this summer is as follows:

• GK: Olivia Clark (FC Twente)
• GK: Safia Middleton-Patel (Manchester United)
• GK: Poppy Soper (Unattached)
• DF: Charlie Estcourt (DC Power)
• DF: Gemma Evans (Liverpool)
• DF: Josie Green (Crystal Palace)
• DF: Hayley Ladd (Everton)
• DF: Esther Morgan (Sheffield United)
• DF: Ella Powell (Bristol City)
• DF: Rhiannon Roberts (Real Betis)
• DF: Lily Woodham (Seattle Reign)
• MF: Jess Fishlock (Seattle Reign)
• MF: Alice Griffiths (unattached)
• MF: Ceri Holland (Liverpool)
• MF: Sophie Ingle (unattached)
• MF: Angharad James (Seattle Reign)
• MF: Lois Joel (Newcastle United)
• MF: Rachel Rowe (Southampton)
• FW: Kayleigh Barton (unattached)
• FW: Hannah Cain (Leicester City)
• FW: Elise Hughes (Crystal Palace)
• FW: Carrie Jones (IKF Norrkoping)
• FW: Ffion Morgan (Bristol City)

Predicted line-up

4-2-3-1: Clark; Roberts, Green, Evans, Woodham; Ladd, James-Turner; Cain, Fishlock, Holland; Rowe

Wales fixtures and results

Euro 2025 qualifying

April 5: Wales 4-0 Croatia, Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, Wales
April 9: Kosovo 0-6 Wales, Zahir Pajaziti Stadium, Podujeve, Kosovo

May 31: Wales 1-1 Ukraine, Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli, Wales
June 4: Ukraine 2-2 Wales, SStadion Respect Energy, Grodzisk Wielkopolski, Poland

July 12: Croatia 0-3 Wales, Stadion Branko Cavlovic-Cavlek, Karlovac, Croatia
July 16: Wales 2-0 Kosovo, Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli, Wales

October 25: Play-off: Slovakia 2-1 Wales, NTC Poprad, Poprad, Slovakia
October 29: Play-off: Wales 2-0 Slovakia (AET), Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales

November 29: Play-off: Wales 1-1 Republic of Ireland, Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
December 3: Play-off: Republic of Ireland 1-2 Wales, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

Women's Nations League

February 21: Italy 1-0 Wales, Stadio Brianteo, Monza, Italy
February 26: Wales 1-1 Sweden, Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, Wales

April 4: Wales 1-2 Denmark, Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
April 8: Sweden 1-1 Wales, Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden

May 30: Denmark 1-0 Wales, Odense, Denmark
June 3: Wales 1-4 Italy, Swansea Stadium, Swansea, Wales

Euro 2025

July 5: Wales 0-3 Netherlands, Allmend Stadion, Lucerne, Switzerland
July 9: France 4-1 Wales, Arena St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
July 13: England 6-1 Wales, Arena St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland

Everything you need to know about Wales

The draw hasn’t been very kind to Wales, who somehow find themselves preparing to face three of Europe’s top six nations – although with England being their final opponents, the opportunity to eliminate their neighbours must surely have crossed their mind.

Such a tough group does take the pressure off Cymru, and they have shown recently that they can make life difficult for better foes. Already in 2025, they’ve drawn with Sweden twice and lost only narrowly to Italy and Denmark.

Under Rhian Wilkinson, they’ve become an efficient and organised side boasting a counter-attacking threat. Wilkinson herself has great international experience: she won 181 caps and two Olympic bronzes as a player with Canada, and was an assistant manager for Canada, England and Team GB. In 2022 she stepped away from her first head coaching job, at Portland Thorns, after she and one of her players expressed feelings for one another.

For Wales, this tournament may represent a changing of the guard, as the veterans who helped them to finally reach this point, off the pitch as well as on it, begin to hang up their boots. Euro 2025 will be a tremendous opportunity for the likes of Ffion Morgan, Carrie Jones – each pushing hard for a starting spot in attack – and Lily Woodham to begin building a new legacy. Whatever happens in Switzerland, the hope is that this appearance at a major tournament represents the dawning of a new era for the women’s game right across Wales.

LESSON FROM QUALIFYING

It’s not over until it’s over. Wales topped their League B qualifying group to progress to the play-offs for Euro 2025, but lost the first leg of their semi-final 2-1 to Slovakia. They made it through thanks to an extra-time winner in Cardiff from Liverpool’s Ceri Holland, while their next opponents, the Republic of Ireland, were beating Georgia 9-0on aggregate. After a 0-0 draw at home, Wales could have been overawed in Dublin as they came up against a side who had played at the previous World Cup, but they held their nerve to win 2-1.

STRENGTHS

Experience – not necessarily at an international tournament, but there’s a strong core of players in this Wales team who know what it means to win at the highest level of club football. That should serve them well as they embark on this new challenge together.

WEAKNESSES

Wales don’t really have a reliable goalscorer, though Leicester striker Hannah Cain has struck at vital times in recent months. The return to fitness of Crystal Palace’s Elise Hughes could be key. It’s also not ideal that Sophie Ingle – a serial winner with Chelsea and second in Wales’ all-time appearance list – has been injured since September.

MOST LIKELY TO…

Enjoy it. The Welsh celebrations upon qualifying were iconic.

LEAST LIKELY TO…

Rely on one player. Ffion Morgan has said, “We have Jess for her Jess moments” but Fishlock insists, “I can’t play by myself... these girls do not get enough recognition.”

WHAT THEY HOPE WILL HAPPEN

Cymru manage to spring at least one surprise, to galvanise a young and growing fanbase back home.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN

If Wales do pick up a point or two, it will have been an extremely successful tournament – such is the difference in quality between them and each of the other teams in this Group of Death. The danger is that they become the punchbag as the three bigger sides fight to make it into the top two.

Wales manager: Rhian Wilkinson

Former Canadian international Rhian Wilkinson was appointed as Gemma Grainger's successor just before qualifying got underway last year and has delivered impressive results to get Wales to their first-ever major tournament.

Wilkinson formerly served as Hege Riise's assistant manager in the England and Great Britain setup in 2021 before returning across the Atlantic to take charge of Portland Thorns.

The 42-year-old led the Thorns to finish runners-up in the NWSL in her one and only season in charge - their best ever performance - before resigning after self-reporting to expressing feelings for one of her playing staff. An investigation found no wrongdoing, but Wilkinson stepped down regardless feeling she no longer had the trust of her squad.

Wales' star player

Jess Fishlock

With six goals in the qualifying stage, Wales' all-time leading scorer Jess Fishlock remains as important as ever to her country's hopes.

The Seattle Reign midfielder, who is number 50 on FourFourTwo's current best players list, chipped in with six goals in qualifying.

She will bring huge leadership qualities onto the pitch with her: she has already supplemented her huge medal collection as a player with one as a manager after leading Melbourne City to the W-League title as player/head coach in 2016/17.