Jayne Ludlow wants Wales fans to spread the fever of World Cup excitement when they face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday night.
The men’s tournament finals may be about to get underway in Russia in little more than a week – minus Wales – but Ludlow’s women have matters of their own in mind with crunch qualifiers for the 2019 competition.
The Wales manager is hoping fans reflect her players’ own sense of anticipation when they turn out at the Liberty Stadium for a vital tie as they seek qualification from Group One.
Wales are currently second in the table behind England, following their hard-earned and gritty draw against the old enemy in April.
The seven group winners will automatically qualify for the finals in France, while the four runners-up with the best record against the teams first, third and fourth in their groups will head into the play-offs.
“The players want to be well-supported when they step onto that pitch,” said Ludlow.
“They want people to actually enjoy the moment they are having in their careers right now. It means so much more when there’s a buzz, an anticipation and an excitement from the people that come to support us.
“For us as a coaching group it’s a different environment. We have to block everything out and concentrate on what happens on the pitch and make the right decisions for the players as we go through the game.
“But, hopefully, the support will take our playing levels to a different level, because we still have room to improve in certain areas.”
Home support and the creation of a favourable atmosphere could now be critical for Wales as their remaining three games are all in front of their own fans.
After facing the Bosnians in Swansea, Ludlow’s side host Russia next Tuesday (June 12) at Newport Stadium, before finishing their campaign at home to England on August 31. The venue for that fixture has yet to be determined.
Ludlow added: “We’re really looking forward to the next challenge that’s coming our way.
“We’ve done very well in the competition so far, we’ve played all our away games, and we’ve picked up points throughout. That’s what we were hoping for at the start of the competition, and we’ve managed to do that. But the reality is that we still have a lot of work to do.”
A solitary goal from Kayleigh Green and a late penalty save from Laura O’Sullivan ensured Wales claimed a 1-0 win over Bosnia in Zenica last November.
“Each team we come up against gives us a completely different challenge,” added Ludlow.
“For us, as a coaching group, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes over the last few months and hopefully we will get our preparations spot on.
“Bosnia are a team that want to grow and want to have success in the future, so they’re in the process of building.
“They’re a small nation, similar to us, with a small group of players. But they’re competitive, they’re very proud as a nation, they come out and they work extremely hard, so we’ve got to match that. We have to make sure tactically we get our decisions right.”
Wales will be without the versatile Charlie Estcourt for both games as the Bristol City loanee undergoes a knee operation.