{"id":1322,"date":"2022-09-07T01:21:41","date_gmt":"2022-09-07T01:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wales-have-made-nation-proud-boss-gemma-grainger\/"},"modified":"2022-09-07T01:21:42","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T01:21:42","slug":"wales-have-made-nation-proud-boss-gemma-grainger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wales-have-made-nation-proud-boss-gemma-grainger\/","title":{"rendered":"Wales have made nation proud – boss Gemma Grainger"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Wales manager Gemma Grainger says her players have made Wales proud after they reached the play-offs for a major tournament for the first time.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tuesday’s tense 0-0 draw with Slovenia ensured Wales finished second in World Cup qualifying Group I.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Wales will be in the play-off draw on Friday as they dream of a place at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I’m so pleased for the players, they deserve everything that they get,” Grainger told BBC Sport Wales.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It has been an exceptional campaign. We have developed.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I couldn’t be prouder of the players. The players need to take all the credit, the 12,000 supporters here tonight were behind us and we fed off that.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Now we want even more. We don’t mind who we get in the draw, we don’t have a preference.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We will look at the play-offs as game 11 and game 12, but we can at least talk about them now.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Grainger has been targeting a play-off berth since succeeding Jayne Ludlow as Wales manager, but now admits there is a desperation to go even further.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I am pleased for the players, for them it has been a long-time coming.<\/span><\/p>\n

“In terms of growing the game and making people fall in love with the team… it’s been a special night.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I didn’t let myself think about this moment, but we inspired 12,000 people, that’s incredible.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Wales’ captain Sophie Ingle admitted <\/span>the result<\/span><\/a> was a career highlight as she represented Wales for the 120th time.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I’m ecstatic, we dug deep, they’re a great team, a physical team, and they battled until the end,” she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I don’t know how we didn’t score, but we got the result we needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

“A lot of family and friends are here and the fans, over 12,000… it’s amazing.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Wales defender Rhiannon Roberts, who celebrated her 50th cap, added: “We came here to win, but we knew their strengths and nullified them.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We’ve made the play-offs and hopefully we can get further. Everyone is buzzing.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We know we should be qualifying for tournaments, so we’ll take it game by game now and hopefully get there.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The crowd were unreal, every time we crossed halfway they roared us on, we can’t thank them enough.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The crowd at the Cardiff City Stadium more than doubled Wales women’s previous record of 5,445.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wales midfielder Angharad James, who won her 100th cap on the landmark occasion, felt the supporters helped to carry Wales over the line.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It’s a surreal feeling to be playing in front of all these fans, they were our 12th player,” she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I couldn’t be prouder of the group. They have worked so hard and to do it in front of this group is an unbelievable achievement – now on to the next one.”<\/span><\/p>\n

James added that manager Grainger has helped to make the side believe they can achieve their goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Gemma Grainger has given us all a lot of confidence,” she added.<\/span><\/p>\n

“You could see the belief out there today. Hopefully there’s a lot more to come.”<\/span><\/p>\n

World Cup play-offs – how do they work?<\/h3>\n