Wales legend Jess Fishlock announces international retirement
It was expected, but it still moved us. Jess Fishlock has retired from international football after the Euros, where Wales qualified for the first time in history.
- Jess Fishlock, aged 38, has announced her retirement from international football, to be capped off with a final friendly against Australia later this month.
- Over a career spanning nearly 20 years, she becomes Wales’s most-capped player (165 appearances) and all-time top scorer (48 goals across men’s and women’s) for her nation.
- Fishlock scored Wales’s first-ever goal in a major women’s tournament, netting against France during UEFA Women’s EURO 2025, and regarded that moment as the “pinnacle” of her international career.
- Her club career remains active: she plays for Seattle Reign FC in the NWSL, where she has won multiple Shields, been named MVP in 2021, and earned several Best XI honors.
- Fishlock was honored with an MBE in 2018 for her services to women’s football and the LGBTQ+ community, reflecting her influence both on and off the pitch.
- In her retirement message, she expressed heartfelt thanks to teammates, staff, family, and fans—especially citing pride in seeing Wales represented on the global stage and urging continued support for the national team.
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