International friendly: Wales v Poland
Venue: Rodney Parade, Newport Date: Tuesday, 28 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Coverage: Live on BBC iPlayer, BBC One Wales, BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales Extra, Radio Cymru, BBC Sport website& app, plus live text commentary.
Wales boss Rhian Wilkinson expects a "tough, tough game" against Poland in Newport on Tuesday evening.
Like Wales, Poland qualified for their first major tournament in December last year, as they reached Euro 2025 via the play-offs with home and away 1-0 wins over Austria.
Nina Patalon's side suffered defeats by Germany and Sweden before upsetting Denmark 3-2 in their final group game in Switzerland.
They come into Tuesday's friendly after a 0-0 draw at home with the Netherlands on Friday.
Wales are on a 10-match winless run, with their last victory being the 2-1 play-off final win over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin in December 2024.
"I think they are a really good test for us," said Wilkinson. "They're a strong attacking unit and they're aggressive.
"I think it'll be evenly matched in certain areas of the game where we have our strengths and they have theirs.
"I think they work together as a team really well, it's going to be a bit of a chess game I think."
Poland are ranked 26th in the world, the lowest ranked opposition Wales have faced since their famous night in Dublin.
"We saw them get a result against Denmark, and we know they're going to really push us, so I'm expecting a tough, tough game," added Wilkinson.
"Like every game, we're going to go out there to win, as they do.
"Then we reset and we prepare for November [camp] because all of this is growth and opportunities, so we can hit the ground running next year in League B."
Despite encouraging home and away draws with world number three side Sweden, 2025 has also provided some harsh days for Wales.
"We talk about this last year being hard, it's hard learning lessons like that, we know," said Wilkinson.
"But we do it together and I think that's important that it's not just on the players, it's how we support them as staff.
"It's not about finger-pointing, it's about, now Wales has seen what top teams can deliver, we need to try to get there.
"Some of the games have been really painful and others we're getting so close and we're knocking on the door, and I don't think we can lose perspective."
Wilkinson is confident her side can return to winning ways if they play to their potential.
"We want to push our standards," added Wilkinson.
"We go out every game and we talk about performance, and I talk about it in terms of the result.
"If we deliver a performance we will get the result, so we have to focus on getting through the game to our standards."
The Wales manager was left "frustrated" after Australia's late winner at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday in a game that marked the retirement of national icon Jess Fishlock.
"We know against Australia that we can live with them for a certain amount of time," reflected Wilkinson.
"We've got to be more ruthless and we've got to make sure our chances count more.
"I really liked a lot about the game and for me it's frustrating because I want us and you guys [the media] to hold me accountable.
"Why didn't we get the tie? Why didn't we get the win? That's the next step.
"It was a great performance, we're proud of it, but I don't want to be a team of 'we almost did it'.
"We've just got to push to close the gaps and that is a natural progression and we're going to keep going towards that."
