Hayley Ladd column: Wales' Nations League excitement and Spain respect

In her BBC Sport column, Manchester United and Wales defender Hayley Ladd looks ahead to the start of the new Women's Nations League as Wales prepare to kick off their campaign against Iceland, but not before a look back at the World Cup, the fall-out from the Luis Rubiales incident, and her passion for change.

We're all pretty excited at getting the chance to kick off a new tournament.

But, I have to say, I was grateful when Gemma Grainger had a quick meeting with us on Monday morning to help us understand how it works.

Whether I'd be able to explain it properly if someone asked me to, I'm not sure, but there's definitely a buzz about the camp given it's something new and a different style of competition for us.

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It feels quite fresh, it'll see us go up against some top teams in League A and - one of the most important things - is that it's linked to qualifying for the next European Championships.

And, as I've said before and I think everyone knows, we are all so determined to reach a major finals.

World Cup jealousy pangs

Speaking of which, I couldn't help but be a little envious this summer watching the World Cup.

I did enjoy it as a fan and the spectacle that was created in Australia and New Zealand, plus some of my Manchester United team-mates like Mary Earps and Ella Toone were out there with England.

We've got a really supportive environment in the United team so we were all sending messages on the group chat, just wishing them the best and to enjoy the experience.

But it was always going to be hard not to let yourself think 'what could have been' after losing in the play-offs.

Wales' hopes of reaching a first major tournament came to an agonising end as Switzerland won a dramatic World Cup play-off final in the dying seconds of extra time

I think the one that resonated the most was seeing the Ireland team going, probably because they are similarly ranked to us.

Seeing them reach their first major finals did make me feel a few pangs of jealousy, but ultimately it was great what they achieved.

Hopefully we can do something similar, get to that first major tournament and really live out the experience.

The new Nations League could give us a route to doing that, but I can't talk about the World Cup and not mention what happened with Spain and Luis Rubiales.

Obviously, a lot of people are still talking about it and it's just sad that it's overshadowed their win.

They had a great tournament, and for the players to do what they did when there was so much distraction for them was amazing.

Even now, what they're trying to do, what they're trying to achieve and change, is momentous really. It doesn't look like it's going to be easy for them by any stretch, but they are doing incredibly well in what they are standing up for.

As a fellow footballer, I fully support them - as do all of us in the squad.

It was definitely a talking point when we met up on Sunday because there's certain things that - with the players' unions - might affect us in a different way.

So it's quite poignant to talk about it together and be aware of things, especially the climate in women's football.

Amazing women's success stories

There's a lot of lot of amazing things happening in terms of the reach now, but there's also so many things behind the scenes now which need to be picked up on and improved for the longevity and sustainability of the game.

On the surface there's been great fandom and increases in attendances, but it's important for us as fellow footballers to be aware of what they're going through.

Back in June I went to Amsterdam for the Women's Football Summit run by Fifpro, the global players' union.

You get to hear from and speak to people from all corners of football and it's so good to be able to learn from experiences and just seeing what's possible.

There's been some amazing success stories where people have really pushed for change, managed to get there and seen the game in their part of the world really thrive. All that because of that personal resilience that might have started with a handful of people, maybe just one person.

It's quite inspirational and, who knows, maybe the administrative or governance of football is something I could go into. I never would have thought about it before last year, but I'm so passionate about these topics, about women's football and the future of the game, that I've found myself advocating for more and more.

Perhaps it's a path for me after football, but it is nice that while I've got a voice as a player to be able to use it, whether it's with Fifpro or on other stages.

Not that I've started thinking about retirement, especially when we all hope we've got something to achieve with Wales. I've had a good pre-season, feel ready for these two games - and then we're straight into the start of the WSL.

It's going to be a busy time, especially in October when we've got our second two Nations League fixtures and a lot of games for club and country.

Belief in what we are doing

This week, though, is all about country and we're all happy with where we are. We've got a lot of tough games with Denmark and Germany also in the group, but we're up for the challenge of competing and making sure we stay in League A.

As Gemma's meeting reminded us, how you do in the Nations League links to the qualifying for the 2025 Euros that start next year, but good performances and good results would be the perfect foundation regardless.

We know that wherever we land in this league, it's important the focus is on ourselves, we believe in what we're doing, and remember that qualification is in our control.

Wales were beaten 2-0 by then-world champions USA in a friendly in July

It's not going to be easy playing against top seeds, but going back to watching the World Cup, I don't want us to go to a major finals and feel out of our depth.

These are the type of games, the types of opponents we would face. It might give us the perfect chance for us to look at games where we might not see a lot of the ball so what else can we bring?

Can we counter attack, can we cause threats in different ways while also staying really resilient at the back? It's a great opportunity for us.

We had a taste of that in the friendly with USA in July, although I'm not sure the weather is going to be quite the same in Iceland as it was in San Jose.

It might be a shock for some of the girls, but I hear the kit man has got the gloves and scarves at the ready so we'll be well prepared.

It might mean our summer is definitely over, but we're ready for the new season - and the new competition.

Hayley Ladd was speaking to BBC Sport Wales' Chris Wathan.

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