Wales coach Jayne Ludlow hopes this week’s Cyprus Cup will be another chance to grow the women’s game.
Ludlow’s side begin their campaign against Hungary in Paralimni on Wednesday hoping to avenge a cruel defeat last year.
An injury-time goal from striker Fanny Vago in the 2-1 defeat on the final day of the tournament last March left wales in sixth spot behind the Hungarians.
But having finished their UEFA Women’s EURO 2017 qualifying campaign with two impressive displays against Israel and Austria they will be keen for their progress to be reflected in their latest visit to Cyprus.
“The performance factor is what we focus on rather than the results,” explained Ludlow.
“For us as a group of staff and collectively as a team, there’s certain targets that we put into every game in terms of roles and responsibilities.
“We have strategies for lots of different things and it’s evaluating during the game, and post-game, how those strategies are working.
“It’s about players making decisions if things aren’t working on the pitch or not working quite right.
“It’s a very different environment to anything I’ve experienced with regards to international football in the past.
“This era that we’re in, we’ll take it as far as we possibly can, hopefully over the next 15-20 years our female game in Wales is going to grow experientially.”
The squad in Cyprus – Wales will also face the Czech Republic and the Republic of Ireland in Group C- is a blend of youth and experience.
“We are trying to include our younger players in with our senior international players because they have a huge amount of information to give back,” added Ludlow.
“And a huge passion for the game, which is again something we haven’t really focused too much on in the past but something we’re definitely trying to change going forward.
“It’s important for us to have an identity as female teams, and it’s about those that experience highs with the national team in the future, come back into it and then take it even further than what we are doing at the moment, so that it keeps growing and growing.”
Hungary
Like Wales, Edina Marko’s Hungarian outfit also missed on qualification for EURO 2017, finishing below Germany and Russia in Group 5. Hungary made headlines for the wrong reasons at the start of their qualifying campaign when they suffered a 12-0 defeat in Germany, but put in a far more spirited performance in the return match one year later, losing 1-0 to the eventual group winners in Gyor. Zsanett Jakabfi of Wolfsburg is one player that Wales will need to pay particular attention to, while they will already be aware of the threat of Fanny Vago after she scored the winning goal for Hungary against Wales in the Cyprus Cup last year.
Czech Republic
Finishing behind Italy and Switzerland in Group 6 decided that Stanislav Krejcik’s side will not be a part of EURO 2017 finals in the Netherlands, but the side finished in fourth place in the Cyprus Cup last year, an achievement that suggests the highest-ranked team in the group will be favourites. Veteran forward Lucie Martinkova is both the captain and leading goalscorer, but it was strike partner Lucie Vonkova who was the top scorer in the last qualifying campaign with four goals.
Republic of Ireland
New manager Colin Bell will be keen to make an immediate impression following his recent appointment. The Englishman has worked in Germany throughout his career, winning the UEFA Women’s Champions League with Frankfurt in 2015, and he replaces Susan Ronan who stepped down after six years in the role after recently failing to qualify for EURO 2017. Ireland have never qualified for the finals of a major tournament, but the appointment of Bell is a clear statement of intent from the Football Association of Ireland. Stephanie Roche, who was famously shortlisted for the FIFA Puskas award in 2014, is included in the squad.
Cyprus Cup 2017
Teams
Group A – Belgium, Italy, Korea DPR, Switzerland.
Group B – Austria, Korea Republic, New Zealand, Scotland.
Group C – Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland, Hungary, Wales.
Venues
GSZ Stadium (Larnaca), GSP Stadium (Nicisia), Tasos Marko (Paralimni), Ammochostos (Larnaca).
Fixtures
March 1st
Group C – Czech Republic v Republic of Ireland (2.30pm) and Hungary v Wales (5.30pm)
March 3rd
Group C – Wales v Czech Republic (2.30pm) and Republic of Ireland v Hungary (5.30pm)
March 6th
Group C – Republic of Ireland v Wales (2.30pm) and Czech Republic v Hungary (5.30pm)
March 8th
Finals Day