Australia cap Hughes called up by Wales

Laura Hughes was Melbourne City's player of the year in 2023-24, her first season at the club

Wales have named Melbourne City midfielder Laura Hughes, who has been capped once by Australia, in their squad for the upcoming international camp in Spain.

Hughes, whose mother is from Gwent, is called up by Wales for the first time despite featuring in a friendly for the Matildas in December 2024.

Head coach Rhian Wilkinson says Hughes is "a really exciting player" who Wales have been monitoring "for a little while".

"I think she's a midfielder who can really bring a bit of bite," Wilkinson added.

"She's got some great vision on the ball as well, so [we are] looking forward to integrating her and giving her this opportunity to show what she can give us."

Wales will face Switzerland in a friendly on Tuesday, 2 December (11:00 GMT) at El Chapin Stadium in Jerez de la Frontera.

Wilkinson's team will also play a friendly on Friday, 28 November (18:00 GMT) at Malaga's Football Foundation Centre, but their opponents are still to be confirmed.

Hughes, 24, made her professional debut as a 15-year-old for home-city club Canberra United.

She had a spell playing in Iceland before returning to Canberra, then played briefly for Manly United prior to a move to A-League Women side Melbourne in 2023.

Her solitary international appearance came as a substitute in a 6-0 victory over Chinese Taipei, but she is eligible to switch allegiances to Wales because that was not a competitive game.

Wilkinson says Hughes has now committed to representing Wales rather than Australia.

"I gave her the option to come in and just meet the team and be a training player and she said 'nope, I want to play for Wales'," Wilkinson added.

"So the paperwork is being done. She's clear on it and she made the decision to fully commit to Wales no matter what."

Laura Hughes made a 20-minute substitute appearance against Chinese Taipei having been a late call-up to the Australia squad last December

While the Football Association of Wales has been on the lookout for Welsh-qualified players to strengthen playing resources, Wilkinson stressed that she will only select those who are desperate to wear the red shirt.

"I think we've talked about broadening the net and bringing pathway players in and just making sure we're seeing everyone," she said.

"At the same time, we can't lose [sight of the fact] that this is Wales and to play for this country and wear this badge is the privilege of a lifetime.

"Her (Hughes) making that commitment from the start with no guarantees that she will make the team, I think goes a long way to demonstrating who she is and also how important she feels being Welsh is to the group."

Hughes is the only new call-up in the first Wales squad named since Jess Fishlock's international retirement, though there are four other uncapped players in Poppy Soper, Annie Wilding, Olivia Francis and Phoebie Poole.

Rhiannon Roberts, Ella Powell, Rachel Rowe, Lily Woodham and Esther Morgan are recalled having missed last month's defeats against Poland and Australia through injury, but Josie Green and Soffia Kelly are again absent.

Anna Filbey, Alice Griffiths, Lois Joel, Gwen Zimmerman, Scarlet Hill, Amy Richardson and Teagan Scarlett are all omitted having been in the previous Wales squad.

Mia Ross and Tianna Teisar are involved again having won their first Wales caps in the October matches.

The Spanish trip will be Wales' final get-together before beginning their qualifying campaign for the 2027 Women's World Cup with an away fixture against the Czech Republic on 3 March, 2026.

Wales, who will also face Albania and Montenegro in Group B1, are in the midst of a miserable run, having failed to win in 11 games since they beat Republic of Ireland in a Euro 2025 qualifying play-off in December 2024.

They have lost seven successive matches – their worst run since the 1990s – having played a number of higher-ranked sides in recent months.

Despite Wales' failure to win so far in 2025, Wilkinson says she does not feel it has been "a down year".

"I'm looking forward to two more opportunities to play against top teams to challenge ourselves, to get ourselves ready for next year and what will be important games coming up," she said.

"We want to make sure we're challenging the team and looking at a bigger pool of players while playing some of the best teams in the world.

"That is when you get challenging results, which is what we have had, but I don't feel like the team is in a negative space."

Wales squad

Olivia Clark (Leicester City), Safia Middleton-Patel (Manchester United), Poppy Soper (Rugby Borough), Ceri Holland (Liverpool), Annie Wilding (Portsmouth), Ella Powell (Bristol City), Rhiannon Roberts (Sunderland), Hayley Ladd (Everton), Gemma Evans (Liverpool), Charlie Estcourt (DC Power), Lily Woodham (Liverpool), Esther Morgan (Bristol City), Sophie Ingle (Bristol City), Mia Ross (Charlton Athletic), Laura Hughes (Melbourne City), Angharad James (Seattle Reign), Carrie Jones (IFK Norrkoping), Tianna Teisar (Plymouth Argyle – on loan from Bristol City), Mared Griffiths (Manchester United), Olivia Francis (Plymouth Argyle), Phoebie Poole (Plymouth Argyle), Hannah Cain (Leicester City), Rachel Rowe (Nottingham Forest), Ffion Morgan (West Ham United), Elise Hughes (Crystal Palace), Mary McAteer (Charlton Athletic).