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The word legend is thrown around too easily in football but when it comes to Jess Fishlock, no other word really comes close. Few embody what it means to play for Wales more than the trailblazing midfielder who will bring her near 20-year international career to a close on Saturday at the age of 38.
When Fishlock takes to the field in a Wales shirt for the 166th and final time against Australia , it will be the closing chapter of a storied international career, a farewell to a player who has gone above and beyond to put the women’s game in her country on the map.
“I made the decision after the Euros,” she told Welsh media. “It wasn’t a decision that I made lightly ... In the end, I just felt that I wouldn’t be able to commit to the cycles as much as I have in the past. That’s just not who I am. If I commit to something, I like to commit to it full throttle, and I just felt like I couldn’t really do that.”
Since her international debut against Switzerland in 2006, Fishlock has been the heartbeat of the team, driving standards on and off the field. Her playing style epitomises who she is as a person – the ultimate team player who covers every blade of grass and leads by example whether wearing the armband or not.
“I think it is impossible to sum Jess up in a few words,” her former Wales teammate Helen Ward says. “For the entirety of my 15-year Wales career, Jess was at the heart of it all. She was always the go-to player and person. When things were going well, it was usually down to something Jess was doing or had done; and when things weren’t going so well, she was the person we looked to to drag us through. From a young age, she just had that leadership quality, that aura about her, but she always was part of the group.”
Fishlock’s presence on a team sheet presented a different proposition for an opponent before a ball was kicked. She is a perfect combination of natural talent, determination and passion. Dictating play from the middle, she possesses the skill, vision and creativity that have enabled her to stay at the top domestically and internationally since making her senior debut for Cardiff City Ladies at the age of 15.
The stats say it all. She will end her international career as Wales’ record appearance holder and goalscorer and a five-time Welsh footballer of the year. She played a key role in their history-making Euro 2025 qualification campaign and fittingly scored their first goal at a major tournament.
“Playing with Jess was one of the biggest honours of my career,” Ward says. “I know she’s stolen the [top goalscorer] record off me but I was lucky enough to hold that for 10 years and a huge part of that, funnily enough, was down to Jess. I would hedge a bet that she assisted well over half of those 44 goals. From the minute I stepped on the pitch for Wales, we just had a connection that grew stronger and stronger.”
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Fishlock’s influence will continue to be profound. She has paved the way for future generations of Welsh footballers and raised the profile of the sport and her nation wherever she has played. Domestically, she has plied her trade in eight different countries and picked up silverware in most. Seattle has been her home for the most part since her move to the US in 2013 and she is hoping to have another NWSL season with the club before she hangs up her boots.
Her influence away from the pitch is no less significant. One need only to listen to her speak to understand how seriously she takes driving the game forward. As part of the generation who struggled to gain investment and visibility, she has bridged the gap to the modern era, unafraid to stand up for what she and her teammates need and deserve. Her visibility as an openly gay footballer and the work she has done for the LGBTQ+ community are crucial and earned her an MBE in the 2018 Queen’s birthday honours.
“She’s just an icon for the country,” Ward says. “She wants to do things right. She wants to look after people whether that’s people in the LGBTQ+ community, whether that’s helping out at food banks when she’s back home, donating money to unbelievable causes, but without shouting about it, because it’s not her … She’s also a huge family person. She looks out for everybody close to her however she can. I think what she’s done for her little town of Llanrumney in Cardiff and for the country as a whole goes way beyond football. She transcends the game.”
