Match Hub: Switzerland vs Cymru
FISHLOCK BOOST FOR CYMRU
October 04, 20225:41 p.m
Jess Fishlock was unable to attend the final international camp through injury, but coach Gemma Grainger is confident the midfielder will feature in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Another record attendance will come just behind Grainger and her team at Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday night (7.15pm) with over 13,500 tickets sold. “I spoke to her yesterday and she’s on track to come home and make sure she’s available,” Grainger (below) said when she announced her roster last week.
“We dealt with the injury during camp. Some of it was a bit unexpected but since she returned to her club we’ve had meetings and put together a plan for her. She has played minutes at her club. As you can imagine, she made it her mission to be ready for this game against Bosnia.”
Cymru qualified for the play-offs for the first time by finishing second in Group I and are now aiming for their first appearance in the finals of a major tournament. Bosnia and Herzegovina, meanwhile, also qualified as runners-up in their respective groups but played just eight games to Cymru’s ten.
A 1-0 away win over Greece and a 0-0 home draw against Slovenia last month confirmed Cymru’s place in the playoffs and if they can defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday they will travel next Tuesday 11th in Switzerland October.
Natasha Harding has not been included in the roster for personal reasons, while Grainger believes her side will be much closer to match fitness than they were at the last international camp held during pre-season. “We didn’t talk about it at the last camp because we didn’t want to focus on it,” she explained.
“Getting the girls to play at this level was a real credit to their dedication and commitment. Without a doubt, the minutes they’ve had since the last camp will play a big part in ensuring that we can really play this game against Bosnia in a better place than the last camp.”