Gemma Grainger insists Wales are not getting carried away
A record crowd will watch Wales play Slovenia in Cardiff on Tuesday.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Gemma Grainger has warned about the dangers of Wales getting ahead of themselves in their bid to qualify for the World Cup.
Wales meet Greece in their penultimate qualifier in Volos on Friday, knowing victory could tee up a momentous night against Slovenia at the Cardiff City Stadium four days later.
Grainger’s side need four points from the two games to secure a place in October’s play-offs, and 9,500 tickets have already been sold for the Slovenia finale to guarantee a national women’s team record attendance.
Head coach Grainger said: “There’s a danger that people can start to look ahead at this point.
“People talk about play-offs. I say: ‘Yes, the play-offs do exist but we’re not currently in the play-offs.’
“We know what the target is, but our focus is very much on Greece and we’ll flip to Slovenia after the game.
“Once we get to that point there’s so much to be excited about.
“But Greece could still mathematically qualify, so I’m sure they’ll want to make sure they perform in this game.”
Wales thrashed Greece 5-0 in the reverse fixture last November on a night when sleet and snow swirled around Llanelli’s Parc y Scarlets.
Weather conditions in Volos will be completely different, with temperatures expected to touch 26 degrees Celsius despite the 8pm local kick-off time.
Grainger said: “The British summer we’ve had has helped us as the girls have been through a pretty hot pre-season.
“We’ll have the cooling strategies and everything in place, but with this team’s mentality and focus it could be anything.
“We saw that with the snow in Llanelli. There was one team that absolutely delivered that evening and these girls will do that, whatever the conditions are.”
Captain Sophie Ingle has been part of several failed Wales qualifying campaigns in the past.
The Chelsea midfielder said: “There’s a lot of elements that come into play, with mentality probably being the main one.
“When we’ve fallen short in the past we’ve been a bit naive maybe.
“We were obviously younger and not so experienced, but now it’s about believing that we can do it.
“In the past we said we believed, but did we really as a whole
“I think now the full squad believes we can compete against the top teams.”