New head coach Rhian Wilkinson says she “does not know enough” about the nations Wales will face in Euro 2025 qualifying as they bid to reach a first major tournament.
Wales have been drawn against Croatia, Ukraine and Kosovo in qualifying for Women’s Euro 2025 in Switzerland.
Wilkinson says her preparation will now begin as she researches the opponents.
“This is the time I dig in as a coach,” she said. “I know of these teams but I don’t know them well enough.”
She added: “Honestly, at the moment, I don’t know enough about the nations we are facing.”
Wales will be nominal favourites to win qualifying Group B4, but Wilkinson feels there is a good depth to the competition.
Wales are the highest-ranked side in Group B4. They are 32nd in the world, one place above Ukraine. Croatia are ranked 58th and Kosovo are 100th in the latest Fifa rankings.
“We’ve got some strong teams in the group, absolutely, and there are definitely teams we do not know a lot about,” she told BBC Sport Wales.
“Kosovo are a nation we have never played before.
“There is a lot of work to be done at our end to turn around [the information] on all three teams.”
Wilkinson, 41, has replaced Gemma Grainger as Wales’ head coach after Grainger quit to become Norway boss.
However, Wilkinson says the disruption of changing head coach cannot be used to excuse Wales being below their best as they bid to qualify for a first major tournament in a campaign that is likely to be the last for Jess Fishlock, the country’s most-capped footballer.
“We really do have the philosophy that there will not be any excuses,” she said.
“There has been a change in coach, it’s not ideal. It’s the beginning of the journey for me but it isn’t for these players, they have been on this journey towards achieving the right to play in a major tournament and that continues for them.
“We can’t ever let the change of coach be an excuse or a barrier for not performing.
“Our ambition is to win every game. This team can beat any nation on their day, but it is consistency which is key and will allow us to have success in this tournament.”
How does Euro 2025 qualifying work?
The qualifiers will take place between April and July, with the sides playing each other home and away.
As a League B nation, Wales’ route to the finals has to be via the play-offs, where 28 countries will compete for the final seven Euro 2025 spots.
The top three countries from the four groups in League B will all reach the play-offs.
All third and fourth-placed teams from League A will qualify for the play-offs and the five group winners and three best-ranked runners-up from League C will reach the play-offs.
The 28 teams making the play-offs will be whittled down to seven in two play-off rounds staged in November and December.
In the first round, the eight sides from League A will be drawn against the eight sides from League C. The six best teams from League B will face the six worst teams from League B. Both sets of matches are two-legged.
In the second play-off round, the 14 teams will be split in seedings. The top seven ranked winners will be drawn against the other seven winners, and the winners of those fixtures will take up the final seven tournament spots.
Which teams enter which league was determined by the results of the 2023-24 Nations League campaign, with Wales finishing bottom of their group, being relegated from League A to League B in the process.
Euro 2025 Qualifying – League B
Group B1: Switzerland, Hungary, Turkey, Azerbaijan
Group B2: Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Israel
Group B3: Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Malta
Group B4: Wales, Croatia, Ukraine, Kosovo