Wales boss Gemma Grainger eyes European Championship as World Cup hopes end

Gemma Grainger says Wales are "worlds apart" from the team which began 2023 World Cup qualifying and is convinced they will qualify for the next European Championship.

Wales suffered agonising defeat in the World Cup play-off final as Switzerland scored deep in extra time.

Grainger insisted the nature of the loss will drive her players forward.

"I am immensely proud of every player and the progress we have made," said the Wales boss.

"When you are that close and the margins are that fine, it's really, really hard to take.

"But I will reflect on a bigger picture here. The team we are today compared to the team we were at the beginning of this campaign are worlds apart.

"The most important thing for any team is to take the learning and the development because our journey doesn't end here.

"We have just written a chapter. We created history. Those players have gone further than any group had before. I am always going to look forward and that's where I am at right now."

Wales took the lead in Zurich through Rhiannon Roberts, but Switzerland levelled just before half-time through Ramona Bachmann.

The hosts then had two goals disallowed in normal time before dominating the additional 30 minutes and winning it through Fabienne Humm.

Grainger said her players could not have given her any more at the end of her first qualifying campaign in charge.

She believes Wales' women are on a similar path to the one trodden by their male counterparts, who have qualified for three of the last four major tournaments.

"We obviously wanted to qualify, but we talked about this World Cup as a little bit of a free hit for us, in terms of let's go and give it everything we have got with a plan knowing we will play at the next European Championship," Grainger added.

"When I think about the men's team and how they have inspired us, I think we are in a similar position to us five or six years ago where you are building something really special.

"When you know you are building something special, these moments you don't forget - they drive you forward into the next campaign."

Grainger acknowledged that some of her older players may consider their international futures after hopes of a first major tournament were dashed.

"There will be some conversations to be had. The senior players you are talking about, we'll definitely have a conversation," she said.

"We will go into the next campaign with new players. We have the likes of Hannah Cain, Esther Morgan - we have exciting players ready to compete.

"The players in the summer made some really great decisions in terms of moving to clubs where they are getting playing minutes, because internationally your players need to be playing week in and week out."