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Wales must use their historic major tournament debut at Euro 2025 as a springboard to scale new heights by qualifying for a first World Cup, says former striker Helen Ward.

Rhian Wilkinson’s side were knocked out of the group stage following defeats by the Netherlands, France and eventual champions England.

Qualification itself was an enormous achievement, as Wilkinson and her players achieved their goal of “climbing the mountain” to get to the tournament in Switzerland.

Their next target is to qualify for a first World Cup, with qualifying for the 2027 edition beginning in February 2026.

As part of their preparations, Wales will host Australia and Poland in friendly matches later this month. Wilkinson will announce her squad for those games on Thursday.

“The summer was all about reaching the top of the mountain, but maybe we just reached base camp and actually the rest of the mountain’s still there to climb,” said Ward, who is second in the all-time list of Wales’ top female or male scorers with 44 goals.

“I think that’s the way that Rhian and the team need to look at it. Is the job only really half-done? Is the job ever done? You’ve always got to try and get better.

“And I think for the group of players knowing them as I do, they’d have had a great experience with the Euros, but they’ll want more.

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

Those friendly fixtures will be their first since being thrashed 6-1 by England in their final group game at Euro 2025 in July.

“We know qualifying for tournaments is never going to be easy but, as the game progresses, there’s more opportunities to qualify, more teams that are going to be involved in these competitions,” Ward told BBC Sport Wales.

“We’ve been moved down into [Nations League] League B, but that served us so well for the Euros, so who’s to say that’s not going to happen again?

“Certainly the World Cup will be on a lot of the players’ minds. That’s the next big one, isn’t it? The Euros is fantastic, a great occasion, but the World Cup is that little bit more special.

“For the majority of them, to experience the Euros and the World Cup would be enough ignition for the fire.”

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

Striker Kayleigh Barton has already announced her retirement, and Wilkinson suggested last month that other senior figures could follow suit.

“Age doesn’t escape any of us, so I think there’ll be some members of the squad who maybe think they’ve got one more campaign and then potentially there will be one or two who do call it a day now,” said Ward.

“But I think the majority of that squad that was in the Euros will want to push on and get themselves to that World Cup.

Wales must use their historic major tournament debut at Euro 2025 as a springboard to scale new heights by qualifying for a first World Cup, says former striker Helen Ward.

Rhian Wilkinson’s side were knocked out of the group stage following defeats by the Netherlands, France and eventual champions England.

Qualification itself was an enormous achievement, as Wilkinson and her players achieved their goal of “climbing the mountain” to get to the tournament in Switzerland.

Their next target is to qualify for a first World Cup, with qualifying for the 2027 edition beginning in February 2026.

As part of their preparations, Wales will host Australia and Poland in friendly matches later this month. Wilkinson will announce her squad for those games on Thursday.

“The summer was all about reaching the top of the mountain, but maybe we just reached base camp and actually the rest of the mountain’s still there to climb,” said Ward, who is second in the all-time list of Wales’ top female or male scorers with 44 goals.

“I think that’s the way that Rhian and the team need to look at it. Is the job only really half-done? Is the job ever done? You’ve always got to try and get better.

“And I think for the group of players knowing them as I do, they’d have had a great experience with the Euros, but they’ll want more.

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

Those friendly fixtures will be their first since being thrashed 6-1 by England in their final group game at Euro 2025 in July.

“We know qualifying for tournaments is never going to be easy but, as the game progresses, there’s more opportunities to qualify, more teams that are going to be involved in these competitions,” Ward told BBC Sport Wales.

“We’ve been moved down into [Nations League] League B, but that served us so well for the Euros, so who’s to say that’s not going to happen again?

“Certainly the World Cup will be on a lot of the players’ minds. That’s the next big one, isn’t it? The Euros is fantastic, a great occasion, but the World Cup is that little bit more special.

“For the majority of them, to experience the Euros and the World Cup would be enough ignition for the fire.”

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

Striker Kayleigh Barton has already announced her retirement, and Wilkinson suggested last month that other senior figures could follow suit.

“Age doesn’t escape any of us, so I think there’ll be some members of the squad who maybe think they’ve got one more campaign and then potentially there will be one or two who do call it a day now,” said Ward.

“But I think the majority of that squad that was in the Euros will want to push on and get themselves to that World Cup.

Wales hopefuls have one last chance to impress Steve Tandy before he names his first squad since taking over as the head coach of the national team.

The new boss makes his first selection on Tuesday, 21 October for autumn Tests against Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.

Tandy and his management team have done the rounds at United Rugby Championship (URC) fixtures and the regions’ training sessions.

Contenders have a final game to stake a claim with arch-rivals Dragons and Cardiff facing each other in Newport on Friday, Scarlets facing Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon and Ospreys entertaining Glasgow that night.

Nobody has caught the eye more than Cardiff tyro Tom Bowen in the first three rounds of the URC.

The 19-year-old wing scored a hat-trick to earn the Blue and Blacks a pair of bonus points at Munster then went over twice in Saturday’s win against Connacht.

The 5ft 7ins back is joint leader in the league for both tries and clean breaks, but says he is staying grounded.

Whether Bowen is ready for a cap is another question – Wales are not in a position to be too experimental – but Tandy and his staff might want to give him a taste of an international camp.

Taulupe Faletau is yet to appear this season because of a summer calf injury, but Aaron Wainwright has been impressive at number eight for Dragons.

Nonetheless, Morgan Morse keeps knocking at the door and the strong-running 20-year-old finished off a flowing Ospreys move against Zebre last weekend.

Cardiff number eight Alun Lawrence is another whose performances in the URC are eye-catching – 60 carries, 51 tackles – but does he have enough X-factor for Test rugby?

Similarly, openside flanker Harri Deaves continues to impress for Mark Jones’ side – 24 carries, eight defenders beaten, 51 tackles – but he might have to be patient given the presence of Jac Morgan and Tommy Reffell in that position.

Dragons have not had a lot to cheer in recent seasons, but the emergence of blindside Ryan Woodman, who has occasionally been pressed into action at lock, has been a huge positive.

The former Wales Under-20s captain has now played 32 senior club games and has grown physically.

Bowen is one of URC’s hottest finishers and Cardiff team-mate Callum Sheedy is racking up the assists with five so far.

The fly-half, 29, put his teenage wing over with a peach of a pass with his hands at Munster, but has also laid on three tries with his right boot.

The 16-times capped playmaker is staking a claim, but his goalkicking success of 55% is not good enough, while it could be argued that Ospreys’ Dan Edwards deserves to be properly backed this November.

Cardiff’s Jacob Beetham is another who could be in the mix after slotting in at full-back, centre and wing so far this season.

He was capped against South Africa in 2024 and the 24-year-old, who is 6ft 1ins, will be keen to push to the next level as an international under his former club boss Matt Sherratt, the new Wales attack coach.

Keiran Williams‘ only cap came when given a cameo against England in a World Cup warm-up at Twickenham in 2023, but he continues to impress for Ospreys.

Relatively small but tough to put down, the centre has made 48 carries so far this season, beaten 11 defenders, made 113 metres to score two tries and provided an assist.

Is he another who will just be a top-end club player? Williams’ hopes are probably harmed by the presence of Ben Thomas and Johnny Williams.

Nick Tompkins has made an impressive start to the season with Saracens, scoring three tries from three appearances at outside centre.

The 30-year-old’s last start at international level was Gatland’s final game and he did not tour Japan after Thomas, Johnny Williams, Joe Roberts and Macs Page were selected.

However, the 41-times capped back’s experience and defensive solidity could be useful for a new regime.

If Tandy wants to create a tough team then three-times capped Dragons back row Shane Lewis-Hughes is worthy of consideration.

Over the border, wing Louis Rees-Zammit is back from NFL and would have been a likely inclusion, but is sidelined with an injury suffered on his second Bristol appearance.

It is fair to assume that Tandy, formerly a defence coach, will want his Wales side to be confrontational, abrasive and tough to beat.

That naturally makes Ross Moriarty a prime contender for inclusion in the autumn squad after returning from playing in France with Brive.

The blindside flanker or number eight won the last of his 54 caps in March 2022 and fell out of favour with Warren Gatland.

Moriarty relishes collisions and undeniably would provide Wales with more grunt, but there is more to his game than just that.

Gatland lamented the loss of Joe Hawkins after he opted to leave Ospreys for Exeter in 2023, ruling him out of the last World Cup.

The centre or fly-half is back in Wales with Scarlets and, despite his club’s early struggles, is a classy player who will hope to add to his five caps in November.

Rhys Carre has started the season strongly when starting all three games for Saracens.

Wales hopefuls have one last chance to impress Steve Tandy before he names his first squad since taking over as the head coach of the national team.

The new boss makes his first selection on Tuesday, 21 October for autumn Tests against Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.

Tandy and his management team have done the rounds at United Rugby Championship (URC) fixtures and the regions’ training sessions.

Contenders have a final game to stake a claim with arch-rivals Dragons and Cardiff facing each other in Newport on Friday, Scarlets facing Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon and Ospreys entertaining Glasgow that night.

Nobody has caught the eye more than Cardiff tyro Tom Bowen in the first three rounds of the URC.

The 19-year-old wing scored a hat-trick to earn the Blue and Blacks a pair of bonus points at Munster then went over twice in Saturday’s win against Connacht.

The 5ft 7ins back is joint leader in the league for both tries and clean breaks, but says he is staying grounded.

Whether Bowen is ready for a cap is another question – Wales are not in a position to be too experimental – but Tandy and his staff might want to give him a taste of an international camp.

Taulupe Faletau is yet to appear this season because of a summer calf injury, but Aaron Wainwright has been impressive at number eight for Dragons.

Nonetheless, Morgan Morse keeps knocking at the door and the strong-running 20-year-old finished off a flowing Ospreys move against Zebre last weekend.

Cardiff number eight Alun Lawrence is another whose performances in the URC are eye-catching – 60 carries, 51 tackles – but does he have enough X-factor for Test rugby?

Similarly, openside flanker Harri Deaves continues to impress for Mark Jones’ side – 24 carries, eight defenders beaten, 51 tackles – but he might have to be patient given the presence of Jac Morgan and Tommy Reffell in that position.

Dragons have not had a lot to cheer in recent seasons, but the emergence of blindside Ryan Woodman, who has occasionally been pressed into action at lock, has been a huge positive.

The former Wales Under-20s captain has now played 32 senior club games and has grown physically.

Bowen is one of URC’s hottest finishers and Cardiff team-mate Callum Sheedy is racking up the assists with five so far.

The fly-half, 29, put his teenage wing over with a peach of a pass with his hands at Munster, but has also laid on three tries with his right boot.

The 16-times capped playmaker is staking a claim, but his goalkicking success of 55% is not good enough, while it could be argued that Ospreys’ Dan Edwards deserves to be properly backed this November.

Cardiff’s Jacob Beetham is another who could be in the mix after slotting in at full-back, centre and wing so far this season.

He was capped against South Africa in 2024 and the 24-year-old, who is 6ft 1ins, will be keen to push to the next level as an international under his former club boss Matt Sherratt, the new Wales attack coach.

Keiran Williams‘ only cap came when given a cameo against England in a World Cup warm-up at Twickenham in 2023, but he continues to impress for Ospreys.

Relatively small but tough to put down, the centre has made 48 carries so far this season, beaten 11 defenders, made 113 metres to score two tries and provided an assist.

Is he another who will just be a top-end club player? Williams’ hopes are probably harmed by the presence of Ben Thomas and Johnny Williams.

Nick Tompkins has made an impressive start to the season with Saracens, scoring three tries from three appearances at outside centre.

The 30-year-old’s last start at international level was Gatland’s final game and he did not tour Japan after Thomas, Johnny Williams, Joe Roberts and Macs Page were selected.

However, the 41-times capped back’s experience and defensive solidity could be useful for a new regime.

If Tandy wants to create a tough team then three-times capped Dragons back row Shane Lewis-Hughes is worthy of consideration.

Over the border, wing Louis Rees-Zammit is back from NFL and would have been a likely inclusion, but is sidelined with an injury suffered on his second Bristol appearance.

It is fair to assume that Tandy, formerly a defence coach, will want his Wales side to be confrontational, abrasive and tough to beat.

That naturally makes Ross Moriarty a prime contender for inclusion in the autumn squad after returning from playing in France with Brive.

The blindside flanker or number eight won the last of his 54 caps in March 2022 and fell out of favour with Warren Gatland.

Moriarty relishes collisions and undeniably would provide Wales with more grunt, but there is more to his game than just that.

Gatland lamented the loss of Joe Hawkins after he opted to leave Ospreys for Exeter in 2023, ruling him out of the last World Cup.

The centre or fly-half is back in Wales with Scarlets and, despite his club’s early struggles, is a classy player who will hope to add to his five caps in November.

Rhys Carre has started the season strongly when starting all three games for Saracens.