Wales are gunning for success in two major women’s football competitions.
Manager Jayne Ludlow and her Welsh senior team are top of their group in the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup and play England away in the next fixture, while the national under-19 squad are through to the elite round of the Uefa Championships.
They will play hosts Portugal, Serbia and Denmark in the elite round next month.
Ludlow has named a full-strength Welsh squad for their top of the table clash against England at St Mary’s, Southampton in their bid to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals.
Wales are top of Group A, one point ahead of England, and have yet to concede a goal in the competition.
The Welsh players follow their match against England with three home games during the summer.
Captain Sophie Ingle will lead a squad that includes the experienced Jess Fishlock, Natasha Harding and Angharad James.
Midfield player Hayley Ladd is back in the squad after missing the Cyprus Cup due to injury, while Wales hope striker Kayleigh Green continues her goal scoring form, having netted three times in the last five games.
England women’s head coach Phil Neville has recalled captain Steph Houghton and vice-captain Jordan Nobbs for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Wales and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The pair missed the SheBelieves Cup earlier this month through injury.
Reading goalkeeper Mary Earps and uncapped Arsenal striker Beth Mead also return to the squad.
Liverpool duo Siobhan Chamberlain and Alex Greenwood miss out along with Manchester City’s Georgia Stanway.
Chelsea defender Anita Asante is ruled out after knee surgery.
England have won three games in Group One and are second, a point behind Wales who have played a game more.
Neville’s England team have climbed to second in the Fifa World rankings, their highest ever position.
❤️ Canu o'r galon
Watch the brilliant moment our Women's team took matters into their own hands when the PA system didn't play our anthem! 🤦♀️ #TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/ohUHKqatGp
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) March 6, 2018
The Wales women’s under-19 squad playing in the Uefa elite round includes eight players with senior international caps.
The squad qualified for the elite round after finishing third in their qualifying group last year and compete in a four-team group with the winners going forward to the finals in Switzerland in July.
Four players who were part of the senior squad for the Cyprus Cup are in the under-19 group. They are Amina Vine, Gwen Davies, Ellie Lake and Chloe Chivers.
Alice Griffiths and Elise Hughes will join up with the under-19s squad after the senior team’s match against England in Southampton.
Griffiths, from Aberdare, played for home town club AFC Llwydcoed in the Aberdare and Rhondda League. The former St John Baptist Church in Wales High School student was Llwydcoed’s only female player at the age of 15.
Everton’s Shannon Dukes, from Penrhyndeudraeth, who studied for A levels at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor’s Pwllheli campus, has put a lot of commitment into football.
She started out playing for Penrhyndeudraeth Juniors at the age of six.
A fellow student from Ysgol Eifionydd, Porthmadog, Cassia Pike, who plays for Liverpool in WSL One, is also in the Wales under-19 squad.
Manager Ludlow will be away with the senior squad who face England at the same time, but coach Kat Lovett will be in charge during the Uefa under-19 tournament.
Fifa Women’s World Cup:
Group one results: Kazakhstan 0, Wales 1; England 6, Russia 0; Kazakhstan 0, Bosnia-Herzegovina 2; Russia 0, Wales 0; Wales 1, Kazakhstan 0; England 4, Bosnia-Herzegovina 0; Bosnia-Heregovina 0, Wales 1; England 5, Kazakhstan 0.
Fixtures to be played:
April
Thursday 5 Bosnia-Herzegovina v Russia.
Friday 6 England v Wales (St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton, 8pm).
Monday 9: Kazakhstan v Russia
Tuesday 10: Bosnia-Herzegovina v England
June
7 Wales v Bosnia-Herzegovina
8 Russia v England
12 Bosnia-Herzegovina v Kazakhstan
12 Wales v Russia
August
31 Wales v England
September
4 Kazakhstan v England
4 Russia v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Group One table
| Teams | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Pts | |
| 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | |
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 9 | |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 3 | |
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | -6 | 1 | |
| 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | -9 | 0 |
Uefa under-19 championships elite qualifying round (all fixtures in Portugal):
April
Monday 2: Denmark v Wales (3pm, Municipal Stadium Carlos Duarte Pampilhosa); Portugal v Serbia.
Thursday 5: Serbia v Wales (3pm, Municipal Sergio Conceicao Coimbra); Portugal v Denmark.
Sunday 8: Portugal v Wales (5pm, Centro de Treino Luso); Serbia v Denmark.
Wales women’s senior squad: Laura O’Sullivan (Yeovil Town), Claire Skinner (Oxford United), Loren Dykes (Bristol City), Rachel Rowe (Reading), Sophie Ingle (Liverpool), Hayley Ladd (Birmingham City), Rhiannon Roberts (Doncaster Rovers), Elise Hughes (Everton), Alice Griffiths (Cyncoed Ladies), Jessica Fishlock (Seattle Reign), Angharad James (Bristol City), Kylie Nolan (Bristol City), Melissa Fletcher (Reading), Nadia Lawrence (Yeovil Town), Charlie Estcourt (Bristol City), Helen Ward (Watford), Natasha Harding (Liverpool), Gemma Evans (Yeovil Town), Kayleigh Green (Yeovil Town), Hannah Miles (Yeovil Town).
England squad:
Goalkeepers: Karen Bardsley (Manchester City), Mary Earps (Reading), Carly Telford (Chelsea).
Defenders: Hannah Blundell (Chelsea), Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Lyon), Rachel Daly (Houston Dash), Gabby George (Everton), Steph Houghton (Manchester City), Abbie McManus (Manchester City), Demi Stokes (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Isobel Christiansen (Manchester City), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal), Jill Scott (Manchester City), Keira Walsh (Manchester City), Fara Williams (Reading).
Forwards: Toni Duggan (Barcelona), Melissa Lawley (Manchester City), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Nikita Parris (Manchester City), Jodie Taylor (Seattle Reign), Ellen White (Birmingham City).
Wales under-19 squad: O Clark, Emma Gibbon (Eastern Suburbs FC, Australia), Amina Vine (Bristol City), Shannon Dukes (Everton), Tamsyn Sibanda (Arsenal), Lucia Carpanini, Amelia Ritchie (Brighton and Hove Albion), Shaunna Jenkins (Cardiff City Ladies FC), Ellie Lake (Cardiff City Ladies FC), Ella Powell (Cardiff City Ladies FC), Alice Griffiths (Cyncoed Ladies), Elise Hughes (Everton), Emily Poole (Cardiff City Ladies), Gwennan Davies (Cardiff City Ladies FC), Cassia Pike (Liverpool), Emily Jones (Everton), Lily Woodham (Bristol City), Bronwen Thomas (Brighton and Hove Albion), Grace Horrell (Cyncoed Ladies), Chloe Chivers (Cardiff City Ladies FC).
Wales under-15 girls’ defence of the Bob Doherty Cup ended in disappointment.
The prestigious cup, which the Welsh girls won for the first time in 2017, is now in the hands of Republic of Ireland, but the there were plenty of positives for the Wales team from the tournament in Belfast.
In three games against Northern Ireland B, England and Northern Ireland A, Wales can consider themselves unlucky to come away with one win and a fourth-place finish.
Manager Matthew Clement said: “It’s been a pleasure managing this group. I’m proud of every player and I’m sure they’ll go on to bigger and better things.
“It isn’t about winning at that age. It’s about developing yourselves and implementing a style of play, which these girls have done well.”
Wales kicked off the annual home nations tournament with a win, edging out Northern Ireland B 1-0 at the University of Ulster thanks to a goal from captain Carrie Jones.
The Welsh girls dominated the first half against England before being beaten 2-0, who finish runners-up in the competition.
In the third-place play-off, Wales were well beaten 2-0 by Northern Ireland A. The hosts missed a second half penalty.
The older girls in the squad will now compete for a place in Jayne Ludlow’s Wales under-17 Women’s squad while the younger members will be back to try and regain the Bob Docherty Cup in 2019.
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