Wales’s Jess Fishlock announced her international retirement this week – and she admitted on Thursday that it was a bittersweet moment.
Asked by SheKicks.net how long it had taken her to come to the decision, she said: “It took me a little while.
“Honestly, I just wanted to give myself some time to think about it, just because I still feel good and I still love this game.
“But I think international is tough and they work in cycles and it was a big cycle, this World Cup one next, and I just didn’t think I could commit to that.
“And so, in the end, it was an easy decision and I think the right one.
“Obviously it’s going to be bittersweet, but I’ve had a great time with my country and it’s just something that I can look back on and be very happy with and proud of, and just let the future of Wales do its thing.”
Fishlock will be part of Rhian Wilkinson’s squad for the friendly double-header at the end of this month, against Australia in Cardiff and then against Poland in Newport.
Harvey: I’m proud of Jess Fishlock
Her Seattle Reign head coach Laura Harvey had earlier paid tribute to the impact the 38-year-old had made during her Cymru career.
“What Jess has done for Wales and the Welsh women’s football team is unprecedented, really: her commitment, her passion, how patriotic she is.
“Being English, I know how much Wales means to Welsh people, and for someone like Jess to achieve what she’s achieved with that team, whilst playing the majority of her career not on that side of the pond, I think, is also something that needs celebrating. It’s not like she’s doing all of those things for Wales and turning up by just getting on a bus or going in a car and driving four hours to camp to do that. She’s flying 10, 11, 12-hour flights, changing eight, nine-hour time difference, and then still doing that.
“And I think that that is a phenomenal achievement for anyone.
“I’m really proud of her.”
“Jess has changed Welsh women’s football forever”
Describing Fishlock’s omission from the London 2012 Team GB Olympic squad as “an absolute travesty”, Harvey enthused about being able to watch her player on the biggest international stage at Euro 2025 – and score Wales’s first goal at a major tournament.
“I’ll be honest, I cried, because I just knew how much that meant to her. I knew how much that meant to her family, the team, the nation.
“It couldn’t have been signed off any better for Jess, if I’m honest.
“I‘ve spoken to her a lot about this decision, if she thinks this is the right time, and she feels like she’s left the program in a better place than she found it, and it’s time for someone else to go on and take the reins.
“How special is that, that she could do that off the back of a major tournament that changed the outlook of Welsh women’s football forever, probably?”
