Wales boss Wilkinson says pressure is on Norway ahead of Women's World Cup play-off final
Wales reach Women's World Cup play-off final after Albania rout
Wales moved a step closer to a first Women's World Cup appearance as a 3-0 win over Albania in Llanelli secured a 4-0 aggregate success in their play-off semi-final.
Wales now face a step up in class against a Norway side ranked 14th in the world, but head coach Rhian Wilkinson insists Wales can "absolutely" cause an upset as they are reunited with former boss Gemma Grainger.
"The pressure is always on the big nations"
"The pressure is always on the big nations and that's something I think we thrive on," Wilkinson said. "We're a small nation, we fight for each other. You see some of the play tonight [against Albania] any you'd be proud of [that] from any team in world.
"[There were some] fantastic levels of play and that's with probably one of the younger teams that's playing in this competition right now, so I think it's an exciting time and why not be excited about the possibility."
The play-off final first leg will be played at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday, 1 December before the return leg in Norway four days later.
Norway, the 1995 world champions, have reached every Women's World Cup since the tournament began in 1991. They will begin as firm favourites against Wales, who are ranked 17 places below them by Fifa and who have never beaten a top-20 ranked side in a competitive fixture.
Wales can go toe-to-toe
But Wilkinson insists Wales, whose only previous major championship appearance was at Euro 2025, can cause Norway problems.
"They're a team that's performing well, that's doing well, as are we and we've got some fantastic players that can absolutely go toe-to-toe with them," she added.
"I've just talked to the staff I think everyone needs a few days off to rest and recover. Then we're going to go again, do the best we can to deliver a team that's going to fight for their country."
Mayzee Davies, Elise Hughes and Hannah Cain found the target as Wales eased to victory over Albania having limped over the line in the first leg last Friday.
"I think we know that the performance away wasn't one that we were particularly pleased with," Wilkinson said. "I thought we lacked intensity, lacked teeth in our defending, we weren't connecting our passes in a way I know we can. Tonight was the absolute reversal of that. I thought from the first minute Angharad James led her team in an intense, strong performance where the team really showed what they're capable of. It was fun to watch."
Complex route to Brazil
The complex nature of the qualifying process means that even if they were to upset Norway, Wales may not be guaranteed a place at next year's World Cup.
Depending on which other sides come through the eight European play-off finals, Wales may have to negotiate an inter-confederation play-off next February to secure their spot in Brazil.
"The World Cup is off in the distance - I'll keep saying that because we don't even know if and when we beat Norway if that's the final hurdle," Wilkinson said. "So it is the next game in front of us - we don't get too far ahead. It's the next job and we've got a lot of work to do as a staff."