Wales call on Chris Coleman in bid to boost Women’s Nations League hopes

Former Wales men’s team manager Chris Coleman has spoken to the country’s women’s squad this week (Mike Egerton/PA)

Wales have enlisted the support of former manager Chris Coleman to help them avoid relegation from the Women’s Nations League.

Coleman memorably led Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 and spoke to boss Gemma Grainger and her squad before Friday’s relegation decider against Iceland in Cardiff.

Wales need to probably win by a two-goal margin to stay in League A, as well as boost their Euro 2025 qualifying hopes, and Coleman gave the lowdown on his time as men’s team manager between 2012 and 2017 during a 20-minute Zoom call on Wednesday.

Chris Coleman became a national hero after leading Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 (Simon Galloway/PA)

“One of the things we have done in terms of the mindset and mentality is being fortunate enough to spend some time with Chris Coleman,” Grainger said at her pre-match press conference.

“We spoke to Chris around some of the work he did with the men’s team because that journey is so similar to us.

“We are two years into a journey that was similar to the one Chris had with our men’s team. It was great for him to speak to the girls about that.

“It was interesting to hear him talk about when the team suffered and what that allowed them to do in terms of ‘Together Stronger’ (the national team’s motto) – the real togetherness of the team and what it takes.

“He talked about the criticism that team had, and to me that’s a natural part of when a team is successful.

Gemma Grainger has targeted victory over Iceland to keep Wales in the top tier of the Women’s Nations League (Bradley Collyer/PA)

“It was a pleasure to speak to him for me as a coach and also for the players.”

Wale