Youngsters ready to fire Wales to finals
JESS Fishlock, Sophie Ingle, Helen Ward and Natasha Harding have been the faces of women’s football in Wales for more than a decade now, racking up more than 400 caps between them.
In 2021, they still continue to shine, but what does the future hold and who are the new crop of talented starlets who look set to become the future of this Wales side?
Ahead of the World Cup qualifier with Greece tomorrow, we take a look at the youngsters coming through.
LILY WOODHAM
The 21-year-old started her career at Bristol City before making a move to Reading in 2018.
After impressing for the Royals, Woodham was rewarded with a callup to the Wales national team, and she could not have made a better start to her international career when she made her debut in October 2020.
Brought on against the Faroe Islands by then Wales manager Jayne Ludlow, Woodham scored her first international goal within seconds with virtually her first touch in a 4-0 win.
Since her debut, Woodham has not yet secured her place in the starting team for Wales, however she has regularly been brought on as a substitute, most recently against Estonia in a 4-0 World Cup qualifier victory in October. She is chasing her sixth cap in the current international window.
CARRIE JONES
The 18-year-old midfielder last week put pen to paper on her first professional contract for Manchester United. It runs until 2023, with the option for another year.
The Newtown product, whose football journey began while playing with her cousins on her grandmother’s farm, was spotted by Manchester United while playing at Cardiff City Ladies.
She initially joined the WSL Under21s Academy, but made the step up to United’s senior team last season and made her senior debut as a substitute in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa in March 2021.
As for Wales, Jones made her international debut aged just 15 under Ludlow and has since gone on to play a further four times under Ludlow’s successor, Gemma Grainger.
MARIA FRANCIS-JONES
Manchester City player Francis-Jones has one senior cap to her name.
Her football career began when she moved from Llanidloes in Powys to Nantgarw in 2019 aged just 16 to join the FAW’s Elite Female Football Academy at Coleg y Cymoedd. During her time there, she also played for Cardiff City Ladies.
In 2021, Francis-Jones was given the opportunity to join the blue side of Manchester as part of their academy squad, where she has linked up with ex-Wales manager and current City academy coach Ludlow with the hope of landing a professional contract.
The forward combines her football with studying for a degree in sport and exercise science at Manchester Metropolitan University and, despite being aged just 18, has been a regular in the Wales squad over the past year or so.
ELISE HUGHES
With 13 caps to her name, Hughes is the most senior player on this list in terms of caps despite being just 20.
The Charlton forward started her career at Everton after coming through their regional talent centre.
Loan spells at Bristol City and Blackburn Rovers followed, along with five goals for the latter.
In 2021, Hughes made a permanent move to Charlton and has since flourished while also scoring several key goals, including a hat-trick against Watford in the Championship.
Hughes’ strong club form has earned her multiple call-ups to the Wales squad over the past few years and in 2018, she made her senior debut in the Cyprus Cup against Switzerland.
MORGAN ROGERS
Before signing for Spurs in 2021, Rogers was at Cardiff City Ladies - at the same time as Francis-Jones - for three years where she developed as a threatening right-sided winger.
The Tottenham Under-21 plater has caught the eye of Grainger and the Wales coaching staff, and is in the World Cup qualifiers squad for the final matches of 2021.