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Head coach Rhian Wilkinson says Wales cannot let that travel chaos affect their performance tonight.

Wilkinson’s squad eventually arrived in the Montenegrin capital less than 23 hours before kick-off at Gradski Stadion.

Despite the disruption, Wilkinson insists her players are “in good spirits” heading into their penultimate Group B1 game.

“It’s obviously not been straightforward, but equally these things happen, and for such a massive delay in our travel plans, I think it’s been handled exceptionally and we’re just getting on with it,” the Wales boss said.

“There’s not much we can do about weather.”

Wilkinson says the disruption was kept at a minimum for the players after Wales were diverted to Brindisi as a result of those electrical storms we mentioned.

“I’m just really very proud of my staff. It’s not nice, right, spending the night at the airport. But how quickly they prioritise the players, getting them to sleep, prioritising food, all those things – the players have noticed [the staff] have gone above and beyond this trip,” Wilkinson said.

While many staff members were at the airport, Wales’ players spent most of Thursday resting at their hastily arranged accommodation in southern Italy.

“They’re not aware of half of what’s been happening and that’s the point,” Wilkinson said.

“We don’t try to shield them from challenge, but equally we try to make sure their performances aren’t affected, and that’s what we’ve done here.

“There’s no excuses. We’ll be ready for the game.”

Wilkinson said trying to sleep at the airport was her only option given the shortage of beds available to the travelling Wales party.

“As a head coach, that is all I can do,” she said.

“I’m actually the least useful person on matchday minus one and two. You know, it’s the reality of it.

“I have staff that will be working over, round the clock now, especially the medical team, to make sure that the players are ready to go and they need to be prioritised.”