Rhian Wilkinson wants Wales to bounce back from opening setback
Victoria Pelova then doubled the advantage just three minutes into the second half before Esmee Brugts wrapped the three points up as Wales slipped to defeat in their opening game.
Wales are the lowest-ranked side in the competition, but Wilkinson believes her team can take confidence from the loss in preparation for Wednesday's meeting with France.
⏰ FT | 🏴 0-3 🇳🇱
Defeat in our opening game at #WEURO2025 in Lucerne.
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) July 5, 2025
'I think all of us as a group are going to have learned something about how we have to suffer in moments of a game,' Wilkinson said in her post-match press conference.
'We have to hang on and we can't capitulate our chains, our connection as a group has to be really tight. We saw moments where we just got a bit stretched and they took advantage of that.
'I do think the players themselves – it sounds strange when you lose 3-0 – but they'll have gained a bit of confidence in this.
'We'd rather lose by three or four nothing and try and play than just sit back. You could say we were defensive in the first half, but it was for a real purpose, we had a game plan and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
'It almost got us to half, so in that way I don't think it was completely off-base but we'll keep pushing.'
Wales are currently bottom of the Group D standings following their defeat, with Wednesday's opponents France in second place after beating England 2-1 on Saturday night.
They conclude their group campaign with a clash against England and Wilkinson is hoping the team can take lessons into their upcoming matches.
Cymru yn creu hanes 🏴
First Women's EURO game ✅#WEURO2025 pic.twitter.com/76RQg5tRyn
— UEFA Women's EURO 2025 (@WEURO2025) July 5, 2025
She added: 'We have to create more opportunities and make sure those moments of lapses get fewer and fewer.
'This is the world stage, this is the big event and it's intimidating, it's the first game, but equally this is what we want. It comes with lessons like this.
'We've got two more big games and we've got to show up again and hopefully learn from how we finished that game because we really stepped up in the last 20 to 25 minutes.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
18 minutes ago
- BBC News
Wales will 'come back fighting' after Euro 2025 opening loss
Defender Lily Woodham insists Wales will not be "too down" and "come back fighting" following defeat to the Netherlands in their opening game of Euro making their debut at a major finals, were beaten 3-0 by the 2017 European champions in Wilkinson's side face another tough game on Wednesday in St Gallen against France, who beat reigning champions England 2-1."We can't get too down about it," Seattle Reign's Woodham said of the defeat to the Dutch."It was a big occasion for us, and not to make excuses at all, we were a bit shaky"We know in ourselves what we need to do better and that's something we'll definitely work on as a group."We'll look at it, review it and try and be positive for the next one. We'll come back fighting."Now we know the reality of these major tournaments and what you've got to give and the work rate you have to put in."The teams that we are playing against are top level and have been here before." Hayley Ladd said defeat against the Netherlands was a "harsh reminder" of playing at a major finals."It was a nervy opening game," the Everton player said."Obviously q difficult score line in the end but it's the start to our journey here and we know we've got lots to improve on and still really positive as well."At least we've got a foundation now to build and grow with these next two games."We obviously know the standards of this level of football now and that's probably a harsh reminder as well that we've really got to be at our very best to compete with these teams."I feel we're capable of that - we just need to go up a few levels."
BBC News
40 minutes ago
- BBC News
Tour de France stage two - Van der Poel edges Pogacar in sprint finish
Update: Date: 17:02 BST Title: General classification after stage two Content: 1. Mathieu Van der Poel (Ned - Alpecin-Deceuninck) 8hrs 38mins 42secs 2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), +4secs 3. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), +6secs 4. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), +10secs 5. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), Same time 6. Enric Mas (Spa-Movistar) " Philipsen (Bel - Alpecin - Deceuninck) +31secs 8. Joseph Blackmore (GB - Israel - Premier Tech) +41secs 9. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor - Uno-X Mobility) Same time 10. Ben O'Connor (Aus - Jayco AlUla) " Update: Date: 16:58 BST Title: A happy coincidence Content: Talk about coincidence... Mathieu van der Poel takes the yellow jersey on stage two in a repeat of the 2021 Tour. Update: Date: 16:54 BST Title: Stage two results Content: Update: Date: 16:49 BST Title: Superb rider from Onley Content: And what about Oscar Onley, Matt? The Scottish rider was sixth today on the longest stage of this year's Tour. A superb effort. Update: Date: 16:48 BST Title: Post Content: Matt WarwickBBC Sport at Boulogne sur Mer A beautiful finish to the beautiful race. The two best riders in the world going at it hammer and tongs in the greatest race in the world. The roar from the crowd said it all - they got what the came for. Update: Date: 16:44 BST Title: Vingegaard third Content: Jonas Vingegaard crossed in third there so will get a time bonus. The Dane ends up just a fraction behind Tadej Pogacar. I'm not sure quite how often we will write their names in the same sentence during this Tour but I'd love to have a pound for every time. Update: Date: 16:40 BST Title: Van der Poel wins stage two Content: Sensational. Mathieu van der Poel empties his tank and holds off Tadej Pogacar to win stage two. Update: Date: 250m to go Title: Post Content: Mathieu van der Poel is straining every is fully invested with Tadej Pogacar on his wheel. Update: Date: 400m to go Title: Post Content: Mathieu van der Poel hits the is a long way out on an uphill finish. Update: Date: 500m to go Title: Post Content: Julian Alaphillipe goes with 500m to go. Update: Date: 1km to go Title: Post Content: Here we Almeida is leading Tadej Pogacar out. Update: Date: 2km to go Title: Post Content: This is going to be a sprint finish for the GC men and the winner will likely take the yellow jersey. Update: Date: 3km to go Title: Post Content: Tadej Pogacar is going for this in a sprint finish. Mathieu van der Poel is still in attendance mind. Update: Date: 4km to go Title: Post Content: Matteo Jorgenson, Kevin Vaquelin and Alexey Lutsenko hit the front. Update: Date: 5.5km to go Title: Post Content: Kevin Vauquelin accelerates on the Cote d'Outreau. This is a play for the stage. Update: Date: 7km to go Title: Post Content: Geraint Thomas has bridged across into the front group. The 2018 champion is showing he is not quite done yet even if this will be his last tour before retirement. Update: Date: 8.5km to go Title: Post Content: Tadej Pogacar crests the climb first for the solitary KOM point available. Nine riders have opened up a little gap at the front of the race and piled the pressure on the rest of the peloton. Update: Date: 9km to go Title: Post Content: Matteo Jorgenson has a little dig near the top of that climb but is shadowed by Tadej Pogacar, who has the time to look over his shoulder and take a ganders at what is happening behind him. Update: Date: 10km to go Title: Post Content: Tiesj Benoot hits the front on the Cote de Saint-Etienne-au-Mont. Mathieu Van der Poel, Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Matteo Jorgenson, Romain Gregoire and Reemco Evenepoel are on his wheel. A gap is forming. Update: Date: 16:23 BST Title: Full gas! Content: Matt WarwickBBC Sport at Boulogne sur Mer The Boulogne breeze is helping to whip up the tension here, 50 metres from the line. But just look at the incline at the finish. Their eyes will be popping out with the sheer effort. Watts-agogo.
South Wales Guardian
40 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Borak: France won't rest on laurels after victory in U20 Summer Series
An Elina Folituu hattrick propelled Les Bleuettes to a dominant win in their 2025 Six Nations Women's Summer Series opener at the Centre for Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly. Emy Baudru, Zoe Jean, Tifen Lesieu, co-captain Anna Macipe and Cherrezade Saiki also crossed for France, and while Borak had nothing but admiration for her team's efforts, the prop explained her team has the potential to be even better during their second game on July 11. 'It was a really good game for us,' said the 21-year-old. 'But we will now go away and work on a few things since we have just under a week to work on the game for Ireland. 'We will rewatch the videos again to see what we have to work on, including the small details. 'We are excited for the game coming up next, especially since it's a big game against Ireland and hopefully we'll do better.' 😎 A recap of the results from yesterday's opening games in the #U6NSummerSeries France started the game the stronger of the two sides and spent much of the first half camped inside the Italian 22 as they looked to assert their physical dominance. Despite the best efforts of Italy's defence, France benefitted time and again from their physicality, as well as their skill, with Folituu's treble – all scored off the back of rolling mauls – highlighting that fact. And Borak revealed taking the game to Italy early was always in the minds of her and her teammates and also praised the performances of some of the more junior members of the squad. 'It was always part of the game plan, and we just wanted to get the head start first,' she said. 'We were happy that the girls showed up, especially in the second half as well. 'I'm proud of the girls, especially since it's the first selection for some of them. 'Everything was positive and we're really happy for the win. 'We still have a lot to work on, and I still have a lot to work on personally. 'But it's the first game and we made it pretty good out there, and now we're just waiting for the next game and hopefully we'll do better in that next week.' Ireland head into the clash with France also having won their opening game of the competition, downing Wales 27-10 in a hard-fought encounter. Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
