Cymru’s most capped international footballer and record goal scorer Jess Fishlock has announced that she will retire from international football following Cymru’s match against Australia at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday 22 October (KO 2pm).
The influential midfielder confirmed on Wednesday that she has decided to call time on her incredible international career that has seen her set multiple records and inspire countless young girls and boys across the country. It was fitting that her last competitive games for Cymru were on the biggest stage at EURO 2025, as there will simply never be another Jess Fishlock.
In an emotional statement, Fishlock said the match against Australia will be her final appearance in the red of Cymru, marking the end of a journey that began in Llanrumney and has spanned almost two decades. She reflected on her pride in representing her country more than 150 times and described every minute as a “pleasure, a privilege, and an honour.”
She called qualifying for EURO 2025 the pinnacle of her career, saying it was a dream come true to see the Welsh dragon on the world stage. Fishlock also thanked her teammates, coaches, family, and supporters for standing by her throughout the highs and lows of her career, adding that passing the Cymru shirt on “in a better place” was her biggest achievement.
Fishlock made her senior Cymru debut against Switzerland as a teenager back in 2006. The landscape of the women’s game in Wales and beyond was unrecognisable compared with today, and over the course of the next two decades Fishlock has witnessed immeasurable change and progress both on and off the field.
It was in 2017 that Fishlock became the first Cymru international to make 100 appearances for their country. The match against Northern Ireland took place in the humble surroundings of Ystrad Mynach with just a couple of hundred fans in attendance. In 2024, almost 17,000 fans were at the Cardiff City Stadium to watch Fishlock and her side take on the Republic of Ireland.
Few players will have experienced the same level of transition across the women’s game like Fishlock has or ever will. Playing club football for nine different clubs across three continents, she has remained committed to the national team and has regularly travelled across the world to wear the dragon on her shirt.
“Jess has this fantastic passion for playing for Wales, and she was brilliant for us in that respect,” said former Cymru head coach Jarmo Matikainen, who made Fishlock his captain. “Playing for her country is so important to her. She has this incredible respect for what it means to represent her country, and her commitment is admirable.”
Domestic titles and European trophies have complimented individual and team awards throughout Fishlock’s career, but her sacrifice to continue to push Cymru towards a first major tournament finals was the goal she continued to chase. Campaign after campaign would end in disappointment, frustration and heartache until a memorable December night in Dublin made history.
The play-off victory over the Republic of Ireland sealed Cymru’s place at EURO 2025. Fishlock had previously spoken of trading all her club achievements, including two UEFA Women’s Champions League titles, to make it to one major tournament with her country. Ultimately, her talismanic midfield presence played a key role in the success achieved by Rhian Wilkinson’s side.
Although the summer in Switzerland did not go completely to plan for Cymru as a tough group brought three straight defeats, Fishlock did make her mark on the tournament by becoming the first Cymru goalscorer on the biggest stage, and the oldest-ever player to do so at the UEFA Women’s EURO finals.
“I don’t think you have many players anywhere in the world who are such servants to their nation,” said Wilkinson after the match against France. “She’s at the twilight of her career, and whenever she chooses to call it a day, she has demonstrated what it is to be a proud Welsh woman who will give everything to her country and to her team.”
