Hayley Ladd column: Wales seek Nations League redemption

In her latest BBC Sport column, Manchester United and Wales defender Hayley Ladd looks forward to games against Germany and Denmark as Wales seek redemption after a disappointing start to their Nations League campaign, which saw them lose 1-0 in Iceland before being beaten 5-1 at home by the Danes.

It's great to be back with Wales ahead of two major games against top class opposition with Germany and Denmark representing really tough tests for us.

Obviously our ultimate aim is to reach a major tournament, everyone knows that, so playing these higher ranked nations is an exciting test for everyone and not something we should shy away from.

Certainly the spirit in the camp remains as strong as ever despite the results in the first two games in the Nations League, that is something I feel like we can always rely on when we come together with Wales.

We know what we are about and what we are trying to do.

I think the manner of the defeats is something we can take something from.

We had a lot of chances against Iceland and on another day might have won that game and got our campaign off to the best possible start.

However, we know we need to be a lot better than we were in the game against Denmark, because no player is going to say they enjoy being beaten 5-1.

That being said, there were definitely aspects of the game I think we can be pleased with. We played with attacking intent, we risked conceding to try and force our way back into the game and that is something we will need to do to get results against the top nations.

• Injured Rachel Rowe to miss Wales trip to Germany

• Page backing boosts Grainger for Nations League

• Wales must work 'hard and fast to improve' - Ward

• Cain aims for Wales impact after injury setback

Certainly life doesn't get any easier for us with these next two games, because Germany and Denmark away are about as tough as it comes.

But that is definitely something we have to embrace, we are going to be competing against former World Cup winners for the second time this year after playing the USA and that just shows the levels we are striving to reach.

This week will be good preparation for a major tournament, being away in two different cities.

For us as players I think it is something a lot of us are used to, both with Wales and for myself with my club side Manchester United.

Confident in what we are doing

We know what we are about and what we are trying to do.

I think for us there is definitely an element of wanting to get some redemption against Denmark, because we don't feel the gap between us is as big as a 5-1 scoreline suggested.

For me personally, especially as a defender, I am looking for a bit of redemption in this camp, especially after the Denmark game.

I'm harder on myself and the rest of the defence and we know we have to be better than we were in our last match.

We want to put the pressure on Germany and Denmark and show them what we are really capable of.

We want to keep setting these high standards for ourselves, we need to learn from every mistake and make sure we are a better team for it.

Hayley Ladd defending against Pernille Harder who scored a hat-trick in Denmark's 5-1

Better to be in League A

But would we rather be worrying about how to compete against the top sides in Europe in league A of the Nations League, rather than maybe having more points being in league B? Absolutely we would.

There is a lot more for us to gain in terms of experience of competing against top nations and that is key for us.

It's highly possible we will find ourselves in a play-off for the European Championships, that's how it worked out in our last World Cup group, so from our perspective, we want to be as prepared as possible and give ourselves the best chance of getting a result.

Despite the results, scoring against Denmark and producing several chances across both games is a huge step in the right direction for us.

In a sport of fine margins, it helps our confidence scoring against these top nations.

It is a different thing when you are playing against really high level defenders and by the same token, as a defensive player, I am fully aware that attacking players like [Denmark's] Pernille Harder are just going to need one chance to punish you.

One thing you can be certain of, it won't make us less sure of the path we are on, even if we don't manage to pick up any points in the next two games, as long as the performances are ones we can be proud of.

This group has been used to disappointment and that can fuel your desire.