Wales’ Pioneering Path: Rhian Wilkinson Faces Tough Challenge in Euro 2025 Opener

There are a couple of factors that the Wales players – and, of course, their coaches – have to contend with ahead of kick-off against the Netherlands.

Firstly, they’ve got to deal with the Dutch, a team that is established in the upper echelons of International football. Then they must deal with the emotion, the nerves, the anticipation, the excitement of the occasion.

This is a first for Wales. These women are trailblazers.

As the women’s game grows, so does the following and inevitably the expectation. Welsh supporters have bought more tickets than any other nation here bar the hosts Switzerland.

They are in Lucerne in large numbers and they are not hard to spot or hear. It shows, though, that the Wales team are worth investing in, worth spending the money to come to Switzerland.

So, while a lovely bonus to be very well supported, it raises the stakes.

This is where, perhaps, the cool nature of the manager comes to bear. Rhian Wilkinson is a highly professional individual – the UEFA vice president Laura McAllister describes her as the No 1 female coach in the world right now – a generational talent.

That Wales have her comes down to her Welsh mum, as well as timing, as she was no longer working as a coach in the NWSL and the FAW got in quick.

So a Welsh connection, but perhaps more important here is her Canadian upbringing, her playing career as one of the most decorated Canada players of all time – it brings a detachment. She gets the emotion and passion, but she’ll shut it down when necessary for the players.

Controlling emotion and nerves may well be as important as nullifying the threat of Vivienne Miedema.

Wilkinson will have that control of her players. In fact, she won’t need to, I suspect, on the day. That work, that professionalism has been instilled already. The work is done.

Nevertheless, when Wales walk out into the stadium in Lucerne, with the majority of the fans theirs and the roar and beauty of the anthem pulling at the heartstrings; even perhaps catching the eye of a family loved one, you’d be a hard-nosed person not to feel the adrenaline kick in.

To the game and how best to contain the Dutch and, who knows, exploit defensive weakness. Wales are the underdogs. The law of probability says the Netherlands win the game, but football can be a funny old game.

The phrase ‘By failing to prepare, prepare to fail’ was coined by Benjamin Franklin, a founding father of the USA – but it applies beyond politics to almost every aspect of life.

If Wales do lose, it’ll be just because the Netherlands were just too good. It won’t be because Wales weren’t ready, that they were naïve first-timers.

Wales’ training camp in the north of Switzerland has been rated by UEFA as having the best pitches to train on. This isn’t luck; the FAW ground staff from their Cardiff base have been working on those training pitches since February with £150,000 invested into them.

Before travelling to Switzerland the squad had a week’s training camp in Portugal. The medical staff, the strength and conditioning coaches, even the chef, are all integral to that pursuit of being the best they can be.

So while this is new and exciting for Wales and their fans, if a fairytale plays out in Lucerne – unlikely as perhaps it is – it won’t be because the Dutch had a shocker or all the planets of the solar system aligned in a way not seen in millennia, it will be because times have changed and the women’s game is getting the backing it needs so that those lucky enough to wear the famous red shirt will be the best prepared team ever.

Expect a well-drilled defensive unit that will try their level best to frustrate the Dutch, but with transition plans in place to move the ball quickly and stretch their opponents. Possession and chances may well be at a premium, but that will be planned for. The trick will be to do the right thing at the right moment – and that comes down to preparation.

And on that front, Wales have not failed.