Wales boss Rhian Wilkinson has claimed that her side has no reason to fear Eileen Gleeson's Ireland team ahead of their first leg of the play-off final tie in Cardiff tomorrow.
The sides will meet for a potential place in Switzerland next summer, with a win for either over the two legs having very different implications for both.
For Wales, it means their first-ever major tournament, while Ireland would secure their second major tournament qualification and their first-ever Euro tournament.
Wales are among the bookies' favourites due to the home factor and the fact they beat Ireland 2-0 back in February.
However, Ireland is ranked 24th in the world—five places higher than Wales. They will also be confident after hammering Georgia 9-0 over two legs last month.
Wilkinson, speaking to the media on Thursday, admitted that despite never qualifying for a tournament, she feels her players have nothing to fear in Cardiff tomorrow.
"We’ve never done it before, and we’ve got nothing to be fearful of. We have nothing to protect," she said to RTE Sport
"When you haven’t done something before, you always have that challenge to be the first. This is the attitude we have.
Ran into an Irish legend in Cardiff! 🤩
Good to see ya, Brendan 🇮🇪#COYGIG pic.twitter.com/bN7Vkh3nyK— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) November 28, 2024
"Ireland has been there before, and they’ll potentially have that fear of not going again.
"We have two incredible challenges ahead of us, but these are the games that are meaningful and have pressure on them—and that’s a privilege."
Wilkinson also added that beating Ireland back in February was nice but knows that both Wales and Ireland are not the same sides as they were. She believes Wales will have to go up another level to beat the Girls in Green this week and next. However, she did admit that Ireland are beatable
"Winning is always going to breed confidence, success, and positivity.
"But that team is not the same, and we are not the same as we were in February, so it’s a brand new challenge.
"We know they are absolutely beatable because of the game in February, but equally, we’ll have to be better than we were then to beat them again."
UEFA EURO 2025 Qualifying Play-Off
Round 2, First Leg
Cymru v Ireland
Friday, November 29th
Cardiff City Stadium
KO 19:15
LIVE on RTÉ2/RTÉ / RTÉ Player
UEFA EURO 2025 Qualifying Play-Off
Round 2, Second Leg
Ireland v Cymru
Tuesday, December 3rd
Aviva Stadium
KO 19:30
LIVE on RTÉ2 / RTÉ Player
