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Ameé Ruszkai3 Jul 2025AnalysisWomen's EUROWalesJ. FishlockWOMEN'S FOOTBALLWales vs NetherlandsFEATURES

'Impossible until it isn't' - Wales icon Jess Fishlock set for fairy-tale career swansong at Euro 2025 as Dragons plot route out of 'group of death' at England's expense

The two-time Champions League winner considered retirement after heartbreak in World Cup qualifying, but will make her major tournament debut at 38

Football history is littered with stand-out names who, despite outstanding individual exploits and remarkable club success, went their entire careers without playing at a major international tournament. For a long time, Jess Fishlock, one of the best midfielders in the history of the NWSL - the top-flight in the United States - looked set to unwittingly add her name to that list.

Across a 19-year international career that has seen her firmly establish herself as Wales' greatest-ever women's footballer, Fishlock has been part of nine failed attempts to take the Dragons to either a European Championship or a Women's World Cup. You could forgive her if, at times, she believed it was never going to happen. But then it did.

Wales didn't certainly do it the easy way, needing extra-time to beat Slovakia and to win in Dublin to overcome Ireland over two legs, but Wales finally got over the line for what Fishlock, now 38 years old, described as "the proudest moment" of her storied career. And now, as the 2025 European Championship gets under way, comes the opportunity she and the whole country have been waiting for - and, as a little added bonus, there's a chance to throw a spanner in the works of England's title defence, too.

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    Bumps in the road

    It's been a long and arduous road for Wales to this point. Back in 2020, they were tied on points with Northern Ireland in a bid to reach the Euro 2022 play-offs, and with a vastly superior goal difference. However, the tiebreaker was head-to-head results, and because Northern Ireland scored two goals in a draw in Newport, it was they who progressed to the next round and, eventually, their first major tournament.

    There would be even crueller heartbreak just a couple of years later, in qualifying for the 2023 Women's World Cup. The Dragons needed a win in a one-legged tie against Switzerland in Zurich and they even went ahead, thanks to Rhiannon Roberts' 19th-minute goal. But their dreams would be dashed in the most dramatic fashion, when Fabienne Humm's effort in the 121st minute sent the Swiss to the tournament instead.

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    'Can't do it anymore'

    Fishlock contemplated retirement at times through those lows, with that World Cup qualifying defeat a particularly crushing blow. "That was hard. It was really hard," she told BBC Sport last year. "I went home and just broke down in tears to my mum. I really stayed strong at the stadium and got home and I just broke down. I was like, 'I just can't do it anymore. I can't go through this again. I cannot go through this again'.

    "She just gave me a hug and said, 'And that's okay'. I was fully expecting her to be like, 'No, you can't stop now, you can't give up now'. But she said the complete opposite and it was exactly what I needed. I went to bed that night, I woke up and I was ready to go again."

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    'Ultimate team player'

    And Fishlock didn't come back for herself. She didn't come back because she, personally, had to make it to a major tournament in order to tick a final box in her career or something like that. She came back because, in her words, it would be a "travesty" for Wales, "with the players that we have", not to finally break through that ceiling. "[It's] not so much about me but everything that we stand for on and off the field, everything these girls have done over the years. They deserve it."

    That's telling insight into what Fishlock brings to this team off the pitch. On it, she's a classy midfielder who dictates games, brings bags of energy to the table, and can both create and score plenty. But she's also a cool head that the more inexperienced members of this Wales team can look to in big moments. After all, Fishlock has been there and done almost everything, with two Champions League titles and three NWSL Shields standing out on her long list of honours. "She is the ultimate team player," Wales head coach Rhian Wilkinson believes.

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    Total transformation

    Fishlock is keen to reciprocate that praise, too, highlighting Wilkinson's role in this historic achievement for Wales. For years, the Dragons have had the talent in the squad to be capable of finally making a major tournament, and all while support within the federation has been growing impressively. But it wasn't until after Wilkinson was appointed last year that they were guided over the line.

    “Rhian’s transformed us," Fishlock told the Guardian last week. "I think in the past we haven’t really had a manager that’s believed in us this much, but Rhian’s unwavering. She’s raised the bar. From minute one, she introduced a set of non-negotiable standards, wielded the hammer and established whole new expectations. It’s brought the best out in us all. It’s always been an honour and a privilege to represent this country, but she’s put us in a spot where we’re now able to compete against top teams.

    “In the past we would just agree, I guess, that maybe we couldn’t do this or we couldn’t do that, but Rhian just doesn’t accept that. I think she really, truly, does believe in us. She communicates very clearly and she’s instilled so much confidence. We knew we were good enough, but we maybe just had a block. Now, you can see us improving. We’ve raised our game. It’s just so exciting."

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    Ready to cause some upsets

    Those improvements were necessary for Wales to get to Euro 2025, and they are going to be even more important at the tournament. The Dragons have been drawn in the 'group of death' alongside France, the Netherlands and England, giving them quite the baptism of fire for their first major tournament. However, while some might expect the debutantes to go out with a whimper, they certainly believe they can make some noise.

    "We’ve used the mountain as a theme and an image throughout this campaign," Wilkinson explained. "[Qualifying] was always going to be an uphill battle with little setbacks. As we’ve moved towards the Euros, we’ve talked about the summit, the Everest part of it. That something is impossible until it isn’t. Outside Wales, people can think whatever they want. Our goal is to show up and deliver to the best of our ability."

    "I really do believe we can go into this tournament and upset a few teams," captain Angharad James added. "As long as we perform, I really believe in us. I really, truly believe we will do well."

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    Full of belief

    When the players themselves talk about the unity within the team, it's easy to see why that belief is there, too. There are always surprise packages at major tournaments, and often they are those close-knit groups, those who will run through brick walls for one another. That is Wales.

    "When you want to achieve something and you get to do it with some of your very closest friends, there's really no comparison to what that feeling is," Fishlock said recently. "With how many players we have that have been here for so long, that have been there together, sometimes you just feel like you play with your mates."

    That's a special thing to have in a team, something that has helped secure two impressive draws against Sweden this year, as well as the wins that sealed Wales' spot at Euro 2025. Now, the Dragons will hope it can cause problems for France, the Netherlands and the Lionesses, all of whom will surely regret it if they are to underestimate the threat Fishlock and co present to their ambitions of being crowned European champions.