Rhian Wilkinson has brushed off suggestions her Wales team will go into Euro 2025 as damaged goods - even though they suffered their worst defeat under her management in their last match before the tournament.
Wales were hammered 4-1 by Italy in their final Women’s Nations League tie at the Swansea.com Stadium.
As a fond farewell, it was as Wilkinson herself admitted, more of “a punch in the face.”
She also labelled the first half as “a little bit of a capitulation.”
It would have looked far uglier, had Wales not shown some admirable tenacity and resolve after finding themselves 4-0 down at the break.
They conceded no more goals - after appearing they might let a hatful in - and managed to make the score look more respectable with a magnificent second-half goal from Jess Fishlock.
It was another to add to the bulging scrapbook of Wales’ greatest player who has now scored 47 goals for her country in 162 matches.
But the audacious chip from 35-yards was not enough to spark any realistic hopes of a comeback as it arrived in the 82nd minute.
Wales also lost their goalkeeper Olivia Clark after 49 minutes with a head injury, suffered 15 minutes earlier in a clash with teammate Hayley Ladd.
Wilkinson insisted Clark had passed all concussion protocols, but it seemed an unnecessary period of discomfort for a keeper who had also taken a blow to the head against Denmark last Friday.
READ MORE: Rhian Wilkinson Insists Wales Are On The Up . . . Even Though They’re Going Down
The defeat means Wales finished without a single win from their six games in League A Group 4, but their Canadian head coach insisted the damage would not be carried all the way to Switzerland next month.
“Obviously this is a painful lesson and I think as a coach this is the first time that we've really been exposed,” said Wilkinson.
“I'm not worried about how this team bounces back because we had the second half and I was happy with the improvements.
“It's a four-one loss and it's a painful one but I was a lot happier with the second half performance.
“There's no psychological damage, there really isn't.
“I think we've had a lot go our way and I'm not naive. There's been a few games where we've got away with things and then we've managed to get a foothold in the game.
“This team punished us for every mistake and that's something that we talk about as a team.
“We've got to react faster, we've got to fix lines. I don't just mean the players, I mean technical staff. I think this is a big lesson for us.”
Wilkinson was adamant the heavy defeat will have no impact on her squad plans for Switzerland, which she says is already firm in her mind aside from one single place still up for grabs.
That must surely be either a defender or a goalkeeper, given the ease with which Wales were opened up by the Italians in the first half.
First-half goals from Cristiana Girelli, who struck twice with excellent headers, Elena Linari and Sofia Cantore punished poor Wales defending and secured Italy second place in the group.
Fishlock, on as a second-half substitute to win her 162nd cap, had the consolation of scoring the best goal of the tie with a 35-yard chip that went in off the underside of the crossbar for her 47th Wales goal.
It was by far the biggest defeat of Rhian Wilkinson’s 15-month reign as Wales had not previously lost by more than one goal on the Canadian’s watch.
She added: “Let's be clear, that was not a performance that I expect from this team.
“What I was most frustrated about was a little bit of a capitulation from the team.
“We got too stretched and they took advantage of us. But I will say, I thought Italy were magnificent.
“I thought they were a very good team tonight, and any mistakes we made, any players we didn't mark, scored, and that's an important lesson for us.
“But I am really happy with how the team reacted, and that's what we said in the locker room - this game's gone.
“So we can either just show up in front of our own fans and just sort of go through the motions, or we can start the game again and make sure that we're putting out a team that's ready to fight for everything.
“The Euros are going to be very difficult. We're going to have to be at our best.
“And any time we make a mistake, we're going to get punished.
“That's what we have learned from the Nations League games.”
