Wales women: Support has improved us – Rachel Rowe

Rowe believes Wales’ maiden performance at a major tournament can be a transformative moment for football in Wales.

“2025 is a moment of big change,” she said. “There has been so much development so far, but this is the perfect opportunity, externally, to take women’s football seriously.

“There’s always been this expectation, but sometimes resources don’t meet that expectation.

“We’ve been building as a nation for years; women’s football has been building for years to get to a point of something big happening.

“It happened with England at the Euros, and my hope from getting to a major tournament is that it filters back down into the Adran Leagues and there’s change in that and more investment, and in five or 10 years, we can see the progress.”

Wales have started their Nations League campaign with a narrow 1-0 defeat in Italy before shocking Sweden with a 1-1 draw at Wrexham.

Rowe, who missed the Sweden match with injury, felt the contest underlined Wales’ new philosophy under boss Rhian Wilkinson, who wants Wales to be braver in possession.

“We’re transforming into a nation that plays football,” Rowe said. “We’ve always prided ourselves on our defensive organisation and being difficult to break down, that’s what our identity has always been, but now we’re developing into something else.

“That’s because we’re being given free rein to do that, and in the past, we haven’t been given that. On a training pitch, anyone can keep the ball, but to do it in a game with high stakes and where results have consequences, it’s exciting.”