Wales Women begin Euros with defeat but support from fans shows how far they’ve come

National World - LocalTV

Wales had been drawn into Euro 2025’s toughest group.Yet hope, as it often does in Welsh football, remained stubborn. Yet the story extends beyond the pitch. Support for the team was extraordinary. Over 4,000 Welsh fans travelled, transforming Lucerne into a sea of red, singing and soaking up the occasion with raw, unpolished joy. It was a stark contrast to October 2021, when just five fans watched Wales play Slovenia in Lendava.

Transcript

00:00Lucerne offered a fitting backdrop for Wales women's major tournament debut,

00:07a picturesque city in the shadow of mountains that mirrored the challenges ahead.

00:12Wales had been drawn into Euro 2025's toughest group.

00:16They entered ranked 30th of the 16 competing nations without a professional domestic league

00:22and faced three former semi-finalists or champions.

00:26Yet hope, as often as it does in Welsh football, remains stubborn.

00:31A 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands brought a harsh dose of tournament reality.

00:35Goals from Vinian Medema, Victoria Pilova and Esme Bruggett underlined the quality gap,

00:41but also the lessons this young side must absorb for sharper defending and smarter transitions

00:47and making their rare chances.

00:50Yet the story extends beyond the pitch.

00:53Support for the team was extraordinary.

00:55Over 4,000 Welsh fans travelled, transforming Lucerne into a sea of red,

01:00singing and soaking up the occasion with raw, unpolished joy.

01:05It was a stark contrast to October 2021 when just five fans watched Wales play Slovenia in Lendava.

01:12Progress has not come easily, though.

01:14The team has faced decades of under-investment, invisibility and long-standing lack of infrastructure.

01:20In December last year, Rhian Wilkinson said Wales remain culturally behind in women's football.

01:26Not in potential, but in recognition.

01:28Saturday showed that's changing.

01:31The Netherlands' rise, too, was once slow.

01:34They didn't reach a World Cup until 2015.

01:37The recent success has helped to normalise support for their women's side.

01:42Wales is following later, but no less passionately.

01:44It's like this, and we've got two more big games, and we've got to show up again and hopefully learn from how we finish that game, right?

01:52Because we really stepped up in the last 20, 25 minutes.

01:55When the national anthem rang out before and after the game, fans sang not just in defiance, but in celebration.

02:02They stayed long after the final whistle, clapping players who, for all their struggles, had made history.

02:08This wasn't a result to be remembered, but it was a moment that won't be forgotten.

02:12It was a moment that won't be forgotten.

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