Angharad James believes a successful scrap to remain among the elite teams of the Nations League can propel Wales into fighting form ahead of the Euro finals.
The Wales captain reckons her team can start their recovery in one tournament in Denmark on Friday night – providing momentum for the massive summer ahead at the other.
Wales are in Odense for their penlutimte group stage match of UEFA Women’s Nations League Group A4 – needing a win to maintain realistic hopes of avoiding relegation.
“Every game is a challenging game against opposition who’ve been at Euros and World Cups in the past,” said the skipper.
“We’re putting on performances that we can be proud of, but we still have room to be better – and we will be better.”
Wales currently sit bottom of Group A4 with two points from four matches, four adrift of both Denmark and Italy.
Wales cannot reach the finals. They will be relegated if they lose to Denmark, or if they draw and Italy do not lose to Sweden.
However, with two fixtures remaining—Denmark away and Italy at home next Tuesday—James believes the campaign can still end on a high.
“If we get a result it puts us in good stead going into Tuesday,” she added.
“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.
READ MORE: Wales’ Sophie Ingle Reaches Summer Crossroads After Chelsea Exit
“It’s been a journey for us but it’s not over yet. We fully believe we can remain in League A.”
James’ message captures the competitive crossroads the team now faces.
While results matter to avoid relegation to League B, these matches are also the final opportunity for players to stake their claim for a place in Rhian Wilkinson’s Euro 2025 squad.
The summer tournament in Switzerland will see Wales compete against European powerhouses France, the Netherlands, and England in the group stage—highlighting the need for sharpness and resilience in every remaining outing.
Wales manager Wilkinson echoed that sense of urgency and clarity.
“I don’t think we can hide from it, that this is the last two games before a big decision needs to be made in terms of the Euro roster,” she said.
“We take that seriously in terms of making sure that we’ve got all the answers we need to make that decision as fully as possible.”
Despite the pressure, Wilkinson reinforced her belief that Wales deserve their place among the top nations.
“We’re here not by fluke. We earned the right to be in Nations League A. We’ve taken it seriously from the start and we continue to.
“We want to stay in League A, but I said from the very beginning that I’m not going to sacrifice my preparation for the Euros to stay in Nations League A.
“But we will do everything that we can to stay up here. Nations League A is not nothing.”
France are through to the 2025 Nations League finals with two games to go but the other three spots plus promotion and relegation between the leagues are up for grabs.
There is more at stake for Wales, too, in terms of their World Cup qualification chances in 2027.
The group standings also determine seedings and placings in the Women's European Qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup, running through 2026.
