On Saturday the Welsh icon ends a 20-year international career which pushed her nation to their first major tournament and raised standards for women professionals
T
he 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.”
