Helen Ward urges Wales to use Euro 2025 to fuel their World Cup dream

Wales face Australia at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday, October 25, before welcoming Poland to Rodney Parade in Newport the following Tuesday.

These friendly matches will be their first since a 6-1 defeat to England in their last group match at Euro 2025 in July.

Ward told BBC Sport Wales: “We know that qualifying for the tournaments will not be easy at all, but as the game progresses, there are more opportunities to qualify, and more teams will participate in these competitions.”

“We were taken down [Nations League] League Two, but that served us well in the Euros, so who can say it won’t happen again?

“The World Cup will certainly be on the minds of a lot of players. It’s the next big tournament, isn’t it? The European Championship is great, it’s a great occasion, but the World Cup is a bit more special.

“For most of them, the experience of the European Championships and the World Cup will be enough to light the fire.”

Some of Wales’ leading players are approaching the end of their careers, with record holder and top goalscorer Jess Fishlock now 38, and former captain Sophie Ingle recently turning 34.

Striker Kylie Barton has already announced her retirement, and Wilkinson suggested last month that other high-profile figures could follow suit.

“Age doesn’t spare any of us, so I think there will be some members of the team who maybe think they have one more season, and then there will probably be one or two who call it quits now,” Ward said.

“But I think the majority of the team that participated in the European Championship will want to go on and get to the World Cup.

“It’s another carrot, another goal, another central moment in history. I don’t think there will be many of them [retirements]Hopefully it won’t be too much, and I think we’ll be ready to go when the playoffs start again. “They will be ready for it.”