Josie Green column: We want to show the world what Wales is all about

BBC News

a day ago

In her latest BBC Sport column at Euro 2025, Josie Green discusses Wales' improved performance in defeat to France, that bus journey, the challenge of facing reigning champions England and reflects on Wales' unsung hero and superstar.
We are close to our third and final group game at our first major tournament, Euro 2025 and it is safe to that none of our squad are ready for our tournament to end.We always knew we had an extremely difficult group, playing three of the best sides in the world and we want to continue to show the world who we are when we face England in St Gallen.I think we have definitely grown into the tournament and we were a lot happier with our performance against France – albeit it was not the result we wanted – than we were with our opening performance against the Netherlands.I think, understandably in the first game there was an element of the nerves and the emotion of the occasion playing a part. It was a historic game for us.But you can see us growing in the tournament and I think in the France game we showed what we are capable of doing, it was just those small margins and small moments that cost us, but I was super proud of what we did in that game.
Every detail has been spot-on in Switzerland
Obviously, our preparation for that match was definitely unusual with our bus being involved in an incident on the way to our training session the day before the game. I think all of our players took it in their stride and it shows the adaptability and the togetherness of this group to pull together.It was very unusual obviously, but I think the way the Football Association of Wales handled it epitomised how spot-on our staff have been on this trip.They were so adaptable to ensure we could get on the training pitch at our base in Weinfelden even though it was a last-minute change of plan. But since we got here, everything has been really first rate and the level to detail has been phenomenal.Everyone's put in so much effort and gone above and beyond to make us have a level playing field at this tournament and it nice to be able to give them all a mention.Our training base, which has been built up from scratch, is superb and the detail in our hotel has been amazing. We have also had some great social media content in the build-up to your games, our fans have come out in force and that's partly due to our media team.It's been incredible the amount of work everyone's put in.Switzerland is a beautiful country and it's been great to explore when we've had some downtime and because it's quite an expensive place, it just makes us even more grateful to the fans who have come out. We know it's a lot of money to some people and that just makes us appreciate the amazing support we have had even more.
Attention turns to England
All of our attention is now obviously on the England game and we are excited to have another opportunity to go out there on the world stage and show what Wales can do.We are expecting a brilliant atmosphere and I am excited to feel that energy from our amazing fans that have been with us throughout the tournament so far.We are looking forward to it, but we're just going to focus on ourselves. We want to get better game by game and that's what we're going to do for this final game.Of course, we want to win the game, you want to go out for every football game and aim to win and it's going to be no different for us, but I think first and foremost, we want to build on that last performance and take that into the next game. If we do that, anything can happen.At the same time, I think, you know, you've got to be mindful of where we are as a women's team. I think if you look at England and how many games they have played compared to how many games our national team has played, it's a pretty big difference.But there is always going to be that rivalry and we've got that Welsh spirit and that Welsh pride that we're definitely going to bring into the game, we are really looking forward to it.The experiences we have had in our first major tournament will hopefully stand us in good stead going forward, I think it is going to be valuable.We've got such a mix in this team of youth and experience. So it's invaluable for every single member of this squad to experience something like this tournament.We want to be able to pass it on to the younger girls coming through, that major tournament experience and feeling. I truly believe this isn't going to be a one-qualification wonder. I really do believe that this is going to be like a catalyst for the next generation of young Welsh talent. I think it's a pivotal moment for Welsh women's football.
Our unsung hero and our superstar
I will end by quickly mentioning a couple of players who have had a big part to play here in Switzerland for us.Firstly, I will start with my fellow defender Esther Morgan.Esther plays with an intelligence far beyond her years, it is hard to believe she is only 22.She's got an extremely high football intelligence and IQ and she's had a stormer of a tournament for us.The injuries Esther has dealt with have been awful, she's overcome that adversity and to put in the quality performances like she has, it's such a credit to her.It's so nice to see that she's been able to get herself fit and back for this tournament, it's been great.Finally, who else could possibly have scored our first major tournament goal than Jess Fishlock?it was always going to be written in the stars and I'm just so happy for her.I don't think we can emphasise enough what she has given this team, the dedication she has shown for 19 years.I saw before the tournament that Jess said that the struggle to help get Wales to a major-finals has taken part of her soul.For her to score that goal for the team, it was an absolute career highlight for us all.And I'm just so proud and happy for her. The whole of Wales is proud and happy for her.