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Wales made history by qualifying for their first major tournament after goals from Hannah Cain and Carrie Jones gave them a 2-1 win in their Euro 2025 play-off second leg against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
Rhian Wilkinson’s side triumphed 3-2 on aggregate as they progressed to next summer’s European Championships in Switzerland.
Leicester striker Cain’s 50th-minute penalty came after a VAR check showed the ball had hit Anna Patten’s arm from a Welsh free-kick.
She kept her composure to give Wales the lead after her recent return to action following a second major knee injury, then substitute Jones struck 17 minutes later.
Patten scored in the 86th minute to ensure a nervy Wales finish that included a goal-line clearance for the visitors during eight minutes of injury time which Ireland dominated, but they held on to spark scenes of Crazy celebration at Aviva Stadium.
Wales showed two changes from the first leg in Cardiff, with defender Josie Green starting in place of Ceri Holland and striker Ffion Morgan replaced by Cain, while an Irish change saw a call-up for Jessie Stapleton.
Clear chances were limited in the opening exchanges. Wales’ Jess Fishlock had the first shot on target, but it was comfortably handled by Irish goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan.
Ireland captain Katie McCabe was then shown a yellow card, but Wales came under increasing pressure and Denise O’Sullivan saw her long-range shot hit the crossbar before McCabe went narrowly wide, also from afar.
There was no respite from the home side and Welsh goalkeeper Olivia Clark produced a fine save to deny Julie Russell, but the visitors responded impressively.
Lily Woodham’s free-kick was saved by Brosnan 13 minutes before half-time, before Brosnan made another fine save to deny Rhiannon Roberts as Wales made their attacking quality stand out.
But Ireland came back and Niamh Fahey went just wide with a powerful left-footed strike in the final attacking moment of a first half that ended 0-0.
Wales were leading five minutes after the break, however, when a VAR intervention showed the ball hit Patten’s arm and Cain sent Brosnan the wrong way from the penalty spot.
Brosnan then made a point-blank save to deny Angharad James, before a double change from Wilkinson saw Morgan replace Cain and Jones replace Fishlock, who appeared to be suffering from an injury.
Jones’ impact was immediate as she put Wales two goals ahead after capitalizing on a superb pass from Woodham, but Patten’s 86th-minute shot gave Wales hope. Ireland in a frantic finish.
