By Hannah Blackwell
Wales will benefit from the growing pains that have come with five straight defeats in the Women’s Nations League qualifiers, according to captain Sophie Ingle.
Manager Gemma Grainger’s team finish their campaign against Germany in Swansea on Tuesday night – looking to prevent a whitewash of half a dozen losses.
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That would not be the outcome that had hoped for when they began their campaign, but Chelsea midfielder Ingle insists the experience of the top Group A3 section has been beneficial.
“Playing the top teams back-to-back is hard, but it’s been a good challenge for the squad,” Ingle said.
“Hopefully going forward it will help us in the long run. There is always a bigger picture.
“We are used to suffering a lot of pain… but there are positives we can take from these games.
“We have never played top teams every three weeks before. Hopefully it is going to help us, next year and the year after.
“It is all part of our growth. We knew it was always going to be a tough challenge against the best, but we wanted that challenge, and we are learning from it.”
Wales will be relegated to League B whatever happens in Tuesday’s final game against the group leaders, who beat Wales 5-1 at home in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
Grainger’s side are on their worst run of results since 2019, though their six defeats on the bounce have come against sides ranked third, sixth, 12th and 14th in the world, while Wales are ranked 29th.
Wales are the only nation in League A of the Nations League to have never qualified for a major finals and are also the lowest ranked side.
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Grainger said: “Our next step is qualification for the Euros and this is the very best way to prepare.
“Preparing to play against the higher ranked teams is something our players are thriving off.
“The big focus for us will be on the performance against Germany.
“Playing against them is a fantastic opportunity for us.”
Germany will reach the finals if they win, or as long as Denmark do not pick up more points than them in their final match at home to Iceland.
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