Wales Women Secure Historic Euro 2025 Qualification

Former Wales international Helen Ward has stated that the women’s national team’s qualification for its inaugural major tournament will establish an enduring legacy, propelling the sport to unprecedented levels within the country. Hannah Cain (left) notably scored Wales’ initial goal during the match in Dublin. In a tense second leg of the Euro 2025 play-off final held in Dublin, Wales triumphed over the Republic of Ireland with goals from Hannah Cain and Carrie Jones, securing a 3-2 aggregate victory and their spot in next summer’s finals in Switzerland. Ward, a former Wales striker who retired in 2023 after achieving 44 goals in 105 international appearances, believes that the accomplishment of Rhian Wilkinson’s squad will generate an impact comparable to the Welsh men’s team’s qualification for Euro 2016. “The journey that this squad and this country has been on in terms of women’s football, for it to finally happen, it’s everything,” Ward conveyed to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast. “It does so much, it’s probably quite hard to quantify it at the moment, and in pre-match and the build-up I talked about the impact the boys had in 2016 on the nation and football as a sport – it overtook rugby, rightly or wrongly, but it seems to have done that. And for the women and the girls I feel that this is that moment, it’s our moment.” Following several near-misses in qualifying for the last three major tournaments, Ward is convinced that Wales’ ultimate success will enable the women’s game to reach new pinnacles. “For so long we’ve been almost living in the shadows and we haven’t quite taken that next step, and this is it,” Ward further commented. “It’s going to increase participation, it’s going to increase attendances, it’s going to increase interest, sponsorships and commercial. But the most important thing is for those girls who are part of that and go to the Euros, it just elevates their own careers and that’s what comes of it, and that’s what’s then going to inspire the young girls to try and do the same.” After the play-off final first leg in Cardiff concluded in a 1-1 draw, the Republic of Ireland entered the second leg as the favoured team before a crowd of 25,832 spectators. However, Wales rose to the challenge; Cain converted a penalty after VAR intervened to rule that Republic of Ireland defender Anna Patten had handled the ball, and subsequently, substitute Jones broke through to extend the visitors’ lead. Patten’s late header offered Ireland a glimmer of hope, but Wales successfully navigated eight minutes of tense additional time to secure what is considered the greatest achievement in their history to date. “They put their bodies and souls on the line and when the moments came – the penalty from Hannah and Carrie Jones going one-on-one – when those big moments arrived, they were there to take them,” Ward remarked. “Big moments need big players and that’s what Wales had last night.” Wales now awaits the draw scheduled for Monday, 16 December, to discover their opponents in Switzerland, having finally secured a position among Europe’s elite football nations.