The mind games have started ahead of a Home Nations clash at Euro 2025, with Wales Women manager Rhian Wilkinson saying the "pressure is all on England" with the Lionesses needing to win to reach the knockout rounds.
For her part, England Women head coach Sarina Wiegman replied that her team are focused on their own preparations, adding that the clash is big for both teams.
Wales have a mathematical - but slim - chance of reaching the quarter-finals, and Wilkinson is not ruling out a huge upset in St Gallen on Sunday.
She said: "It's not like the last two oppositions were not strong. We said from the beginning that our group is one that will test and push us, highlighting the areas where we need to improve as a team.
"England are a top team that have some fantastic players that I have coached. I am looking forward to putting these incredible women out against them. The pressure is all on them, we know that and know there is still a chance for us. We are aware of it.
"When there is a chance, there is an exciting element that we go towards it and are not afraid of it because what do we have to fear? It's an exciting opportunity.
"We are going to push them to the very end. We are in a close group and England will be forced to play a strong line-up because of the close group and there is also goal differentials. For my women, we get to show up and spoil the party. That is a wonderful job to have."
When asked if she thought the comments were the start of mind games from the Welsh, Wiegman replied: "Maybe, I don't know.
"But we have our own preparation and we know what's on the line. We are going to do everything to win the game because we want to get through.
"I've learnt a little bit about the history and the rivalry. But we're focused on what we have to do and how we want to play and find a way to win.
"For them, it's a big game, but it's a big game for us too because we have to win. We want to get through the group stage and control that ourselves… they have passion but we have passion too. We want to play really well and play football."
Wiegman also offered a small insight into how England are planning on taking on a Wales side who, despite two defeats, have acquitted themselves well at their first major tournament.
She added: "I hope we will see a game where we have a lot of the ball and we play very good in possession so we don't let it come into a fighting game.
"I'm not worried but Wales as a team are very compact, they can fight, they're really together. When they have the ball, they can play direct and they want to play too.
"We just try to prevent that and the best way to do that is to be good on the ball yourself, move quickly and try to exploit the spaces.
"There's always pressure on England and that's through expectations. We expect from ourselves that we're going to play a good game… hopefully we have the ball a lot and we can exploit spaces."
'It's in our blood and DNA to want to beat England'
England and Wales have not played each other since 2018. That year, the pair drew 0-0 in Southampton - up until recently, regarded as one of Wales' best ever performances - but were beaten 3-0 a few months later.
Plenty has changed for both teams over the last seven years, but Wales captain Angharad James-Turner says the players have been reflecting on the goalless draw, adding that is is woven into them to want to beat England.
She said: "You don't forget when you get a result against England. We've spoken about the game and a lot of time has passed since then. New players have come into the squad, and we've got a nice mixture of younger players and more experienced ones.
"We're prepared for tomorrow, we've done all the preparation, and whatever England side Sarina Wiegman decides to put out, we're ready for them. We have to concentrate on the performance and the gameplan first and foremost.
"It's in our blood and it's in our DNA to want to beat England, and that will always be there."
When asked how the Lionesses are dealing with sides wanting to get the better of the reigning European champions, Alex Greenwood said: "It's something we're probably used to now.
"That's a pressure that we've invited because we've been successful and one we should be proud of. As a team, we don't focus too much on that. We focus on ourselves and our game plan and the objective and that's to win.
"For me personally, it's another game. It's now the most important game we're going to play and that's how I treat it. For the fans and everybody around it, the rivalry is brilliant. The atmosphere tomorrow is going to be great and it's something we should all look forward to."
