Women's World Cup 2015: Wales wary of Belarus qualifying threat

Striker Gwennan Harries says Wales cannot underestimate Belarus when the sides meet in their Women's World Cup qualifier on Thursday.

Jarmo Matikainen's side are five points behind Group Six leaders England following the 1-0 win over Turkey on Saturday.

Wales beat Belarus 1-0 in Cardiff earlier in the campaign.

"We can't take them lightly. It's going to be a tough game," said Bristol Academy's Harries.

"They're only two places behind us in the Uefa rankings and they're a very difficult side to break down.

"We've seen that when they came to us. They sat back and we ran out of ideas at times."

Harries has not featured in the qualifying campaign because of a serious knee injury, sustained against the Netherlands in November 2012, and recently suffered a setback.

Wales strengthened their grip on second place in the group with an unconvincing victory over Turkey at Haverfordwest's Bridge Meadow.

"It shows how far we've come because, go back a couple of years, we probably would have played well in these types of games but lost," said former Cardiff City and Everton player Harries.

"It shows we've got that real quality, real spirit and fight. We're grinding out these victories. This is the most points we've had on the board."

England need four points from their last three games, which includes a trip to Wales, to reach the 2015 World Cup final after a comfortable 3-0 win in Belarus.

Wales are six points ahead of third-placed Ukraine, who have two games in hand.

Four runners-ups from the seven groups will go into two rounds of play-off matches for the remaining World Cup spot.

"It's a huge ask and let's not forget we're ranked fourth in that group," added Harries.

"We're really outperforming where we should be in this group.

"Those top four places are very difficult to get into and you have to make sure you're performing every game. Every performance is vital."