Featured image credit: Steffen Prößdorf (CC BY-SA 4.0)
A game that Wales will be able to take a lot of positives from. Being knocked out on penalties by the highest-ranking team in the tournament isn’t anything to be ashamed about. Wales gave everything and when it comes down to it, losing in this nature, is a much bigger learning experience for the players than if they’d won.
That’s all these sorts of tournaments are learning experiences. With a squad who are ultimately looking towards the very big World Cup qualifier against France during the next international window, this tournament was ultimately a chance to get some games into the younger more inexperienced players and to find some much-needed depth in vital areas.
This game showed us all of those points. The biggest news before the game was the host of changes that Gemma Grainger had made ahead of this game. 20-Year Old, Olivia Clark was making her Wales debut in goal, with a much-changed backline in front of her. With Hayley Ladd injured in the previous game, we knew that there would have to be a change in the defence and Captain Sophie Ingle was pushed back into the centre of defence, a position she’s used to playing in, in a Wales shirt. She was accompanied by Rhiannon Roberts who was pushed in from Right Back and replaced out there by 23-Year Old Charlie Escourt, who is normally found playing in midfield, but clearly, with Rachel Rowe also missing from the matchday squad, Gemma Grainger needed to look at options. The backline was finished with Lily Woodham playing on the left side of the four, meaning only Rhiannon Roberts was remaining from the starting backline from the previous game. Sophie Ingle had played in the game against Belgium, but she had started in midfield. So this was a very new looking backline and it was definitely a risk for them to take. There was only one other change in the rest of the team and that was Angharad James coming into midfield, to fill the hole Ingle had to vacate.
In comparison, the Belgium team were out there to win. With players like Cayman and De Caigny starting, it shows they wanted to win this game and a lot of credit has to be given to Wales for the performance they gave out there, they spent a lot of time defending deep and defending desperately. The fight against the wind was almost as difficult as the game being played. Every high ball, every long ball, was a guess at where it would end up. Playing into the wind, playing against the wind, these teams both fought well against nature.
The game was ultimately one with few clear cut chances, whether it was due to the weather or the set-up of both teams. But Wales’ attack didn’t show the same ruthlessness as they did against Scotland, whilst Belgium pushed the Welsh defence a lot. Both teams traded a lot of fouls, but none of the free kicks really caused either team any problems. It was once again a game that was devoid of corners for Wales’ part, only earning 1 corner throughout the entire game, which was a strong contrast to Belgium’s 12 corners, a lot of which came in the final 3rd of the game, when there was a lot of high balls into the box that the wind would hold up and cause trouble for the keeper.
Towards the final quarter of the game, Wales were barely managing to clear the ball from their own half and for a few minutes towards the end, it was back to back corners for Belgium and Wales were looking desperate and tired. By which point the likes of Fishlock and Harding had been subbed off, which was a needed change, two of our oldest most experienced vets, who’ve played two hard games, against two hard teams, one in Harding who has played every game for Reading this season and one in Fishlock who’s still only in pre-seasons. These are the players who you rest when you need to. They’re the players you protect in these situations and if they can’t go on any longer, they can’t go on, which as Penalties rolled around for both teams, it was a crying shame, because you imagine, Jess Fishlock and Tash Harding on the field they would have stepped up for a penalty and that might have turned the tide.
A penalty shoot-out is not a way any team wants to go out of a competition, but Wales have nothing to be downtrodden over. Olivia Clark had just played her first-ever 90 minutes for the senior and had to take on a penalty shoot-out. Keepers practice penalties of course they do. But in a game like this, how much-advanced preparation can someone do. I honestly think that penalties are all down to the kickers and not the goalies, you can practice as much as you want and learn the kickers every penalty but when it comes down to the moment there is no real idea what someone is going to do.
The players who stepped forward to take a penalty, whether it was a success or a failure, they had the bravery to do it and it’s not an easy situation and they should be commended.
Penalties:
Belgium-Minnaert ❌, Blom ✔, Eurlings ✔, Cayman ✔
Wales-Green ✔, Escort ❌, Woodham❌, James ❌
Lineups
WALES – O. Clark; Estcourt, R. Roberts, Ingle, Woodham; Fishlock, A. James, C. Jones; Holland, K.Green, Harding
BELGIUM – Lemey; Cayman, Kees, De Neve, Deloose; De Caigny, Biesmans, Minnaert; Janssens, Daniels, Wijnants
Players of the game:
WALES – O.Clark & M. Wynne
BELGIUM – Cayman & Minnaert
Wales’ next game is going to be the 3rd place playoff, against the Republic of Ireland, Tuesday, 22nd, 12:30 EST
Belgium’s next game is going to be the final, against Russia, Tuesday, 22nd, 19:30 EST