Progress and history - Wilkinson's first year with Wales

Wales rounded off their first year under Rhian Wilkinson with an eye-catching 1-1 draw against Sweden in the Nations League.

The former Canadian international was officially named as Gemma Grainger's successor one year ago, on 26 February, 2024.

It has been a remarkable year for Wales since Wilkinson took charge as she guided the women's side to their first ever major tournament courtesy of a dramatic play-off final win against Republic of Ireland.

But what does Wilkinson's record look like and how is the squad evolving in preparation for Euro 2025?

BBC Sport Wales takes a closer look at the 42-year-old's opening year in the dugout.

Wilkinson has taken charge of 12 matches as Wales boss to date - with each of those being competitive fixtures.

She has overseen wins in exactly half of those (six), while there have been four draws and two defeats. It has resulted in an impressive win rate of 50%.

They are also unbeaten in six home matches, winning three and drawing three.

European Championship qualifying certainly was not the ideal time to throw in fresh faces, although the current Nations League campaign represents a far better opportunity for Wilkinson to give untried youngsters - as seen of late with Mayzee Davies and Mared Griffiths - their chance to impress.

There were also competitive bows for Lois Joel and Safia Middleton-Patel in 2024, but the influence of experienced heads cannot be understated.

Wilkinson used a total of 24 players across her opening 12 games, but only five of those have featured in every single one of those matches.

Jess Fishlock, Angharad James, Hayley Ladd, Gemma Evans and Lily Woodham - who now have a combined total of 497 caps at an average of almost 100 caps each - have been ever-present under the Canadian coach. Wise heads will always prove invaluable.

Liverpool's Evans and Everton's Ladd hold the proud record of being the only players to play every single minute throughout Wilkinson's tenure.

"Over the last year we've grown so much. It's been a whole squad effort," captain Angharad James said this week.

The Seattle Reign midfielder added that "players have grown and partnerships have come to life" when discussing the balance between youth and experience.

Wilkinson fully grasps the requirement to develop her squad while also being competitive in matches.

"At no point have I said that these [Nations League] games and results don't matter, they do matter," Wilkinson said before her side held Sweden, ranked five in the world, to a 1-1 draw.

"We're out to win every game we play," she added. "Equally, I will not be a coach that sacrifices the team's development just because I'll do anything for the win."

But it's clear to see that Wilkinson is hugely impressed with the make up of her entire squad at present.

"What I can take from it is that we have a roster of players that will do anything and everything for their country," added Wilkinson.

As for goals, Wales have netted 25 times across their 12 games under Wilkinson.

Fishlock leads the way with six, Kayleigh Barton has five, Rachel Rowe is third with three while Ffion Morgan and Elise Hughes have two apiece.

Lily Woodham, Angharad James, Ceri Holland, Carrie Jones, Mary McAteer, Sophie Ingle and Hannah Cain all have one each.

Just a day after landing the managerial role, Wilkinson watched on from the stands as goals from Fishlock and Woodham earned Wales a surprise 2-0 friendly win over Republic of Ireland in Dublin under interim boss Jon Grey.

It was Wales' first victory in 10 months, with Grey - who was retained in Wilkinson's coaching staff - helping to show the new boss she would be inheriting a squad with plenty of talent.

Emphatic wins against Croatia and Kosovo - by a combined scoreline of 10-0 - in their opening two Euro 2025 qualifiers certainly whetted the appetite of the Red Wall.

Successive frustrating draws against Ukraine - their strongest qualifying opponents - in May and June were perhaps a blessing in disguise as they served as a reminder that Wales would not simply breeze through their group without a struggle.

But Wilkinson's players ended the group with wins against Croatia and Kosovo - again keeping clean sheets against both sides - to take top spot in their Nations League group and progress into the Euro 2025 play-off semi-finals.

It was far from plain sailing at the business end of 2024 for Wales, as their double header with Slovakia showed.

Wilkinson also had a number of injury concerns to contend with throughout the year, including those of Ingle, Cain, Holland, Josie Green, Hughes, Esther Morgan and Wales' most-capped player and top scorer, Fishlock.

Nonetheless, the closing stages of the year bubbled to a rip-roaring crescendo, certainly for the neutral and, thankfully, in time, for the Welsh supporters.

A major scare in the first leg of the semi-final against Slovakia - which saw Fishlock play through the pain barrier to come off the bench and tee up Ffion Morgan for a crucial goal in a 2-1 defeat - was followed by a far more convincing but once again nerve-shredding 2-0 triumph after extra-time in the second leg in Cardiff thanks to goals from Fishlock and Holland.

It paved the way for a winner takes all double header with Republic of Ireland, a tie in which Wales emerged victorious 3-2 on aggregate.

It sparked wild scenes of celebration from the Welsh contingent at Dublin's Aviva Stadium, located just eight miles away from where Wilkinson had seen such hope at Tallaght Stadium upon taking the job nine months earlier.

Speaking prior to the highly creditable draw with Sweden, Wilkinson said: "Like everything there's been a lot of ups and downs.

"Wales had staff in place before I arrived, and for me, a year into the job we're still getting to know each other.

"These players come into the national team for a short amount of time, and it's nice because we are getting into a rhythm, but equally, part of my job is to never let them get too comfortable and to never let myself get too comfortable."

Comfort is certainly not a feeling Wales will be afforded this year - as they have already found out in February.

Of the nine matches Wales are scheduled to play in 2025 - including the two they have already played - all of their opponents are higher in the global rankings.

In fact, Italy, Sweden and Denmark (Wales' three Nations League opponents) along with Netherlands, France and England (Wales' three Euro 2025 group stage opponents) are all currently in the top 13 of Fifa's world list.

For context, Wales are currently ranked 30th.

Wilkinson was under no illusions as to the scale of the task that lay ahead of her players throughout 2025.

While there is a clear desire to gain positive results, the Nations League campaign at least affords Wilkinson the opportunity to use competitive matches against stellar opposition as preparation for what will ultimately be the key focus of the calendar year - this summer's Euros in Switzerland.

To that end, squad rotation, debuts and tactical tweaks can all be expected in the short and medium term as Wales look to bridge the gap to the world's elite, underlined by Wilkinson making five changes to the side beaten in Italy in Wales' Nations League opener.

Manchester United's 17-year-old defender Scarlett Hill - capped by England at youth level - earned a first call-up to a squad this month and could well make her mark in the red of Wales. The same applies to Sunderland's uncapped Ellen Jones who again goes in search of game time.

Wales can ill-afford a repeat of their previous glum League A campaign under Gemma Grainger where failure to improve and learn from mistakes proved costly.

It remains early days, but Wales have already proven they are more competitive this time around in the highest echelon of the Nations League. But improvement and progress remains the key.

And so to the next year under Wilkinson.

"We know the Euros are there, that's the weight that's lifted," concluded the head coach.

"Now we can look forward to it as an exciting thing ahead but equally, we use it as 'how can we be the best possible team we can be?'. Each game that we have is an opportunity to practice that."