Gemma Grainger: World Cup makes Wales 'even hungrier' to reach major tournament
- Published
Gemma Grainger has been Wales boss since 2021 and signed a contract extension earlier this year
Gemma Grainger says watching the Women's World Cup has made Wales "even hungrier" to reach a first major tournament.
Wales missed out on qualification for this summer's tournament after play-off defeat to Switzerland.
But Grainger says her team are "right on track" as they target a place at Euro 2025.
"We have watched teams that we have played at this World Cup," the Wales manager said.
"We know we have beaten some of the teams who are at the World Cup. For me it makes me even hungrier, and the players also.
"We are very focused on our journey. We know that women's football as a whole is growing - we are excited about that.
"We came so close to qualifying. I know that those margins are so small so the investment we are making in the team both on and off the pitch, it puts us in a place where we are excited to start the Nations League."
Wales broke new ground by reaching the World Cup qualifying play-offs, but were beaten in agonising fashion in Zurich last October.
They return to competitive action in the inaugural women's Nations League next month, with a trip to Iceland followed by a home fixture against Denmark.
They also face Germany in what is a demanding group.
Grainger has watched Germany and Denmark in action during the World Cup - Iceland did not qualify - having travelled to the tournament in Australia and New Zealand as part of world governing body Fifa's technical study group.
"It is a group of technical experts who watch the games, analyse the games and then provide a tactical analysis of the games," she told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.
"For us as a technical study group, on the pitch, there have been so many different results, some shock results. The quality of the game on the pitch was one of our reflections as a group.
"We are seeing now that teams are tactically more prepared. Some of the bigger nations I think had a few surprises when it came to that."
Grainger says her squad are in "a great place" as they look ahead to the Nations League campaign, which precedes the start of European Championship qualifying in spring 2024.
She believes the growth of women's football in Wales could see another record crowd for the Denmark game, on 26 September, after 15,200 watched the play-off semi-final win over Bosnia-Herzegovina last year.
"What we want to do is keep breaking records," Grainger added.
"We are going to be playing Denmark at Cardiff City in September and we want to see the fans coming back."