Wales Captain James Confident of Improved Performance Against Republic of Ireland

Angharad James, who was appointed Wales’ permanent captain in October, is preparing for the Uefa Women’s Euro play-off final second leg. The match between the Republic of Ireland and Wales is scheduled for Tuesday, 3 December, with a 19:30 GMT kick-off at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Coverage will be available live on BBC One Wales, iPlayer, BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru, the BBC Sport website and app, including live text commentary. Highlights will be shown on S4C at 22:00 GMT and later on demand. Wales captain Angharad James has declared that the Republic of Ireland “haven’t seen anything yet” from her team, as both sides gear up for the Euro 2025 play-off final second leg on Tuesday. The first leg, held at Cardiff City Stadium on Friday night, concluded in a 1-1 draw, with Lily Woodham’s opening goal for Wales being nullified by an own goal from Olivia Clark. Despite the draw, James, the Wales captain, expressed confidence that Wales’ performance will improve in the upcoming second leg at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium. “It was always going to be a battle. It’s a derby and a game that means a lot to both teams,” James stated in an interview with Match of the Day Wales. She further commented, “As a group we know that we can be better, that wasn’t our best performance by a long way, but there is pressure on these games.” James also added, “We know we’ll be better for Tuesday. We have got a lot to work on and they haven’t seen anything yet.” The initial leg in the Welsh capital was largely characterized by caution, with neither Wales nor the Republic of Ireland gaining a significant advantage. However, James is now focused on securing an away victory, aiming for Wales to qualify for a major tournament for the first time in their history. “A derby is always physical, it’s just about being smart and making sure all 11 players stay on the field. We’ll regroup and look at how we can get better for Tuesday,” James elaborated. She continued, “It was cagey. It was tough to grow into the game. But we are taking a good result over to Dublin and we’ll give it everything we’ve got.” Regarding the conceded goal, James remarked, “It’s disappointing to concede any goal. We take it as a team and I think we could have dealt with the situation a lot better.” Concluding her remarks, James affirmed, “We’ll give it everything for the red jersey and hopefully we can get over the line.”