Impetus71 •

Cymru crash to Nations League relegation after cool as ice visitors seal win

by Martin Townley, Impetus Cymru correspondent at the Cardiff City Stadium (2/12/23). Above: Iceland’s opening scorer Hildur Antonsdóttir (on ground) celebrates after putting her side ahead. Photo: Rob Mellor for Impetus. Iceland secured third place in Nations League A Group Three with a 2-1 victory over Cymru at Cardiff City Stadium. In a must-win game to avoid relegation to Nations League B, Cymru pressed forward in the first half and created several chances. As it has been for much of this
Impetus •

Cymru prepare for USWNT clash

Above: Cymru head coach Gemma Grainger speaking to the media ahead of today’s game with the World Champions. Photo: FAW Gemma Grainger and her Cymru squad are in California as they prepare to face the USA as part of the World Champions’ preparations to defend their trophy. The match will be the first time that two sides have met. The US beat the Netherlands in the 2019 World Cup final with a 2-0 win in Paris. Cymru will be without captain Sophie Ingle, who is suspended but the experienced Ang
Impetus •

Dragons roar on return to Cardiff

by Martin Townley at the Cardiff City Stadium for Impetus (8/4/23). Above: Jess Fishlock, who scored Cymru’s opening goal, battles her way through Northern Ireland tackles. Photo: Perry Dobbins. Cymru roared to a victory over Northern Ireland on their first game in Cardiff since their historic World Cup Play-off win. Over 6,800 fans set a record attendance for a Cymru friendly as Gemma Grainger’s side outclassed Northern Ireland. Cymru controlled the first half and created plenty of chances.
Y Clwb Pêl-droed - Your home for Welsh football •

Kieffer Moore header secures narrow Wales win over Lativa

Kieffer Moore got the only goal as Wales beat Latvia by a goal at Cardiff City Stadium. Moore’s first-half header was enough for the win. After Cymru had controlled most of the game and had the better possession it took to the 40th minute for Kieffer Moore to open the scoring. Cymru had chances throughout the half and Moore went close as did Ethan Ampadu. Harry Wilson also saw two shots blocked and a late chance saved. Cymru continued the same way in the second half as they looked to get the s
Impetus •

Grainger announces Cymru squad for Pinatar Cup

Cymru manager Gemma Grainger has named her first squad after Cymru narrowly missed out on qualifying for the World Cup. There are many familiar names in the squad including Jess Fishlock, Helen Ward, and captain Sophie Ingle. There are also returns for Esther Morgan, Hannah Cain, Josie Green, and Ceri Holland along with a first call-up for Bethan Davies. Davies will be joining the squad mid-way though the Pinatar Cup to allow Safia Middleton-Davies to join the under 19’s in Portugal for a min
Impetus •

Grainger signs new Cymru deal

Above: Cymru head coach Gemma Grainger, who today signed a new deal with the FAW. Photo: FAW. Cymru head coach Gemma Grainger has signed a new contract with the FAW to extend her time as the national team manager. The news comes after Cymru narrowly missed out on a place at next years World Cup. Grainger will guide the Dragons into qualifying for both the 2025 Euros and the 2027 World Cup. The 2023 World Cup campaign was Grainger’s first as Cymru boss and the former England assistant coach too
Y Clwb Pêl-droed - Your home for Welsh football •

Rob Page opens new 3G pitch to help Cymru find their next Bale

On the morning if announcing his 26 man squad for the 2022 World Cup Cymru manager Rob Page opened a new 3G pitch at Penyrenglyn Primary School. As part of the opening, there was a football festival featuring children from various primary schools in the area. Page who was raised in nearby Tylorstown took part in some the of the activities. He also held d a Q&A session with some of the children. The event coincides with the squad announcement for this year’s World Cup which will see Cymru parti
Y Clwb Pêl-droed - Your home for Welsh football •

Cymru's 26-man World Cup squad named as no surprises made

From a welfare hall in the Rhondda valleys Cymru manager Rob Page announced his squad for the 2022 World Cup. Swansea’s Joe Allen is named but will face a race to be fit. From his home town in Tylorstown Page named the 26 that will head to Qatar for the world cup. It was not the ordinary venue to release a international squad but spoke to Rob Page’s working class roots. Returning to where he would play snooker many years ago. It will be the first Cymru squad to head to a World Cup since Jimmy
Impetus •

Late Swiss Strike Breaks Welsh Hearts

Above: Kayleigh Green (9) gets an effort in for Wales in Switzerland last night. Photo: BBC Wales. Fabienne Humm sent Switzerland to next year’s World Cup with a goal in the dying seconds of extra time. Humm’s smart finish at the near post a minute into stoppage time at the end of the second period of extra time finally broke Wales and ended Gemma Grainger’s teams’ chance of making a first major tournament. Switzerland dominated the ball and saw two goals overturned by VAR after Rhiannon Robe
WordPress.com •

Sublime Strike From Fishlock Sends Wales To Switzerland

by Martin Townley at the Cardiff City Stadium for Impetus. Above: Jess Fishlock celebrates after scoring a stunning winner to put Wales into a play-off in Switzerland next week in the World Cup qualifiers. Photo: FAW. As always before Wales games, ‘Zombie Nation’ blasts around Cardiff City Stadium and the feeling is that something special is about to happen. As the Wales players take to the field the roar around Cardiff grows. The Red Wall in full voice could the team deliver? Oh yes they did
Y Clwb Pêl-droed - Your home for Welsh football •

The three players who impressed in Wales’ 1-0 defeat to Poland

Despite losing 1-0 to Poland in their final Nations League game. Meaning they are relegated to League B but there were some positive performances. Wales may have lost out to Karol Swiderski’s 58 minute goal. In what was a hard fought Nation League match but three players still stood out for Rob Page’s side. Wales were without many key players during this international window and this gave opportunities to other to stake a claim for places in the World Cup squad. Here’s a look at three players
Y Clwb Pêl-droed - Your home for Welsh football •

Wales v Poland: UEFA Nations League

Wales failed in their bid to stay in the Nations League A as they lost their final match 1-0 to Poland at Cardiff City Stadium. Poland frustrated Wales using every opportunity to go down and waste time. Karol Swiderski got the games opening goal after 58 minutes, just as Rob Page was looking to bring Kieffer Moore into the game. The early moments saw a tense start to the game as both sides look to get a foothold. The game struggled to get into a flow with the ref blowing up many times for foul
Y Clwb Pêl-droed - Your home for Welsh football •

Wales v Poland: UEFA Nations League

Wales failed in their bid to stay in the Nations League A as they lost their final match 1-0 to Poland at Cardiff City Stadium. Poland frustrated Wales using every opportunity to go down and waste time. Karol Swiderski got the games opening goal after 58 minutes, just as Rob Page was looking to bring Kieffer Moore into the game. The early moments saw a tense start to the game as both sides look to get a foothold. The game struggled to get into a flow with the ref blowing up many times for foul
Impetus •

History Makers & Record Breakers: Wales Make Play-Offs For First Time

by Martin Townley at the Cardiff City Stadium (7/9/22) Above: Post-match scenes of delight among the Welsh players. Photo: FAW. It was an historic night in Cardiff as Gemma Grainger’s Wales side made history making it to the World Cup play-offs for the first time. Needing just a point in front of a record crowd of 12,741 for a women’s football match in Wales, the side drew 0-0 with Slovenia. Before kick-off as Zombie Nation blasted around the stadium, the heavens opened and rain cam hammering
Impetus •

Wales Prepare to Make History

Above: Wales are hoping for plenty of celebrations tomorrow night when they could clinch a first-ever World Cup Play-Off spot. Photo: FAW. Wales will face Slovenia on Tuesday at Cardiff City Stadium in their final World Cup Qualifier needing just a draw to secure a place in the World Cup Play-offs and will have the backing of a record crowd set be over 10,000. Gemma Grainger’s side stand on the brink of history and will be the first Welsh women’s side to make a major tournament play-off. A 1-0
Impetus •

Wales And Ferns Share The Spoils

Above: Combative action between Wales and New Zealand yesterday. Photo: PhotoSport NZ. Wales and New Zealand played out a goalless draw on a sunny evening in Spain. In a competitive encounter, both teams created chances despite not being at their best. Indeed, the Football Ferns could have taken the win through Grace Jale late on if not for a fine save from Laura O’Sullivan in the Wales goal. It was a New Zealand side who fielded some of the young stars from Wellington Phoenix’s inaugural A-Le
Impetus •

Grainger And Ingle: Wales Are Going In The Right Direction

Impetus’ Martin Townley was in today’s Wales media conference and heard from head coach Gemma Grainger and captain Sophie Ingle (27/6/22). Wales manager Gemma Grainger spoke to the media ahead of her side’s friendly international against New Zealand. The match on Tuesday will take place in Pinata, Spain where the squad has been enjoying some warm weather training. “Since we travelled out last Wednesday, we’ve had a real opportunity to enjoy some time together both on and off the pitch. “That w
Y Clwb Pêl-droed - Your home for Welsh football •

Wales boss Rob Page keeps cards close to his chest on team selection

Wales manager Rob Page has refused to give any hint about his team selection ahead of Sunday’s World Cup play-off final with Ukraine. The Dragons are ninety minutes away from qualifying for a first World Cup in 64 years but face tricky opposition. Ukraine have not lost a qualifying match since 2017 and got to the quarter-finals of EURO 2020, one step more than Wales did last summer. Page has said that he has a plan in place and that he and the players have to trust in that plan. While Page wo
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