Wales legend Jess Fishlock announces international retirement after ‘incredible journey’

Jess Fishlock, widely regarded as the Wales Women’s national team’s greatest player, has announced she will retire from international football after this month’s home friendly against Australia.

The 38-year-old is Wales’ record goalscorer, despite predominantly playing as a midfielder, and their most-capped player, with 165 international appearances and 48 goals.

Perhaps even more significantly, she has played a talismanic role in the team for nearly two decades, frequently being the standout star, stepping up in their biggest matches and scoring memorable match winners. She was awarded an MBE for services to women’s football and the LGBT community in 2018. She became Wales’ first footballer to reach a century of caps in 2017.

Fishlock cemented her place in the Cymru history books when she scored Wales’ first goal at a major women’s international tournament in July, finding the net against France in St Gallen, Switzerland, during a group-stage defeat at Euro 2025.

“The Euros was the pinnacle of my football career; seeing the dragon on the world stage for the first time will be a memory that will stay with me for a lifetime,” Fishlock posted on social media. “To all the players and staff, past and present, diolch [thank you]. It has been an incredible journey.”

After starting with Cardiff City, she has spent most of her career overseas, predominantly with the NWSL club Seattle Reign, whom she joined in 2013. She has helped Reign win three NWSL shields and was named as the NWSL’s MVP in 2021, making the NWSL’s “best XI” five times.

Fishlock won the Champions League with Lyon in 2019 during a loan spell, and has also had successful loans with clubs including Melbourne City and Reading. Her club career continues, with the NWSL end-of-season playoffs approaching.

After Wales’ exit from July’s Euros in Switzerland, Fishlock said she needed a “little time to think” about her Wales future and her decision comes before the squad announcement for Wales’ home friendlies against Australia, on 25 October, and Poland, on 28 October.