Rhian Wilkinson admitted her Wales side have room for improvement despite securing a narrow 1-0 win away to Albania in the first leg of their Women's World Cup play-off semi-final in Shkoder.
An own goal from Ezmiralda Franja in the first half proved decisive, giving Wales a slender advantage to carry into the second leg at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli on Tuesday. However, the scoreline flattered the visitors, as Albania — ranked 37 places below Wales in the FIFA standings — created the more clear-cut opportunities throughout the contest.
Franja, Fortesa Berisha and Megi Doci all had chances to level the score for the hosts, but none were able to find the net, allowing Wales to escape with the win and, crucially, a clean sheet, which Wilkinson had identified as the team's main objective heading into the match.
Speaking after the game, the Wales head coach was candid about the performance. "We stuck with it. [It was a] resilient performance. Not our best, but equally, we learned to win on hard days, and today it wasn't our best," she said. "Coming home with [the win] is great. We're halfway there. We need to make sure we take care of business at home but equally push our standards a bit."
Wilkinson also acknowledged shortcomings in Wales' defensive display, despite the clean sheet being preserved. "I didn't think we defended overly well today to be honest, but what we did do is we never quit," she said. The coach pointed to a growing resilience within her squad as a defining trait of the team under her tenure. "I do think I've been in this job long enough to have seen that growth with this team, that we're finding ways to stick in the game. And we've got to be happy with that right now because, again, we're away from home and in an environment where they made it really tough."
The result continues a pattern from Wales' World Cup qualifying campaign, during which the team repeatedly ground out positive results in difficult away fixtures across the group stage, despite not always producing their best football. Wales topped Group B4 in commanding fashion, including a 4-0 victory over Albania in Wrexham, a dominant win against Montenegro in Llanelli, and a 3-1 triumph over the Czech Republic in Cardiff.
Wilkinson is hopeful that home advantage will again prove decisive when the sides meet for the second leg, though she was quick to warn against complacency given the fight Albania showed in the first encounter. "Albania will feel like they were right in this game and they were," she said. "So we've got to make sure that we match their energy and take advantage of the stretch in the game that they're going to give us because they're going to go for it. It's another battle. I'm confident in my team, but we've got to be ready to fight because definitely Albania will be."
Should Wales advance past Albania, they are set to face Norway in a two-legged play-off final in December. Gemma Grainger's Norway side secured their spot with a 2-0 win away to Romania. Norway, ranked 14th in the world, would present a significant step up in quality, and even a victory over them would not guarantee World Cup qualification outright — Wales could still need to navigate inter-confederation play-offs next February to book their place at next summer's tournament in Brazil.
The second leg against Albania kicks off at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli on Tuesday, 13 October.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.