Kosovo vs. Wales preview – Chelsea star reflects on captaincy

As Wales prepare to take on Kosovo, both Sophie Ingle and Jess Fishlock have reflected on recent accomplishments ahead of the qualifier.

On Sunday evening, Ingle announced she would be stepping down as captain after nine years in the role.

The decision, while coming as a shock to many, is something the Chelsea midfielder has been mulling over for a while and felt that now is the right time to move on.

“It’s been on my mind for a long time. I spoke to Gemma Grainger in the November/December camp, and we agreed to discuss it in the new year. I said to her, if you don’t want to change it, then I’m happy to carry on, but these are my thoughts.

“Gemma then left, and everything was put on hold, and when I had the opportunity to speak to Rhian, I explained my thoughts to her.

“It’s been a tough decision. I would have loved to have kept it, but I think now is the right time not only for me, but the team as a whole.

“I want someone else to have that experience and grow within that responsibility that they will gain. It’s taught me so much this last nine years, and I want someone else to experience all that.”

The timing of the announcement in particular has come as a surprise to many, especially in the middle of two qualifying games.

Head coach Rhian Wilkinson explained why the decision was made at this time, and also stated that she still regards Ingle as a captain of this team.

“For me coming in, I wanted to highlight that Sophie was the Wales captain. It was a home game for her, and she’s not about the extras around the game and she didn’t want to announce it before and distract attention away from the game. And I wanted to give her one more time to wear it.

“I think she would have been fine if I had announced the decision before the game, but from my side of things, I wanted to selfishly stand on the sideline with Sophie leading her team out for me for one time as the new coach, and now I’m working with Sophie to hand over the armband to that next generation of player.

“The reality is, whether Sophie Ingle is wearing the armband or not, she is a captain of this team. We have a lot of captains in this team, and I’m privileged as a coach to have a team with this much experience and all of them are so willing to help the younger ones.

“It was pretty emotional for me after the game just thinking about someone who’s worn it for nine years, seeing it as not a retirement, just someone who feels like, for the legacy of the programme, this was the best thing for the team. You don’t see that kind of selflessness often in the game, and I’m proud to be coaching someone like Sophie.”

Whenever you speak to Welsh players past or present, they always speak glowingly about the now former captain.

Jess Fishlock is no different. She has been a part of a dominant and experienced midfield alongside Ingle for many years, and she was full of praise for her long-time teammate and friend.

“There probably isn’t enough words for me to describe Sophie adequately. She’s been an unbelievable person for us, first and foremost. She’s so dependable, so reliable, she’s always there to give advice, always on your side. I’ve had many teammates and captains, and I don’t even have the right words to say about Sophie.

“The best thing I can describe is that, when we’re playing together and there’s moments of chaos and pressure, I can look back and see Soph, and I know we’re going to be alright. She’s calm, reassuring, and her qualities speak for itself.

“It’s funny that the last thing I talk about is her as a footballer, because everything else that she is surpasses how good she is, and she’s that good. She’s an incredible human, an incredible footballer, and we’ve been very lucky to have her as captain for as long as we have.”

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150 caps

The captain’s armband tomorrow will be on the arm of Fishlock tomorrow night, as she prepares to play for Wales for the 150^th time.

She will become the first male or female from Wales to reach such a milestone, but the Seattle Reign star isn’t letting her mind linger on those achievements just yet.

“It’s hard because, everyone is talking about the 150, and I appreciate that immensely, but it’s not really at the forefront of my brain, purely because we have a game and I need to be focused on that.

“I’m sure after the game I’ll be flooded with loads of emotions that I will need to try and regulate. It’s always hard to live in these moments because you’re always playing a game; it’s an underwhelming response but that’s the reality of it.”

While Fishlock may not want concentrate on the accolades, plenty of others are more than willing to speak about the influential taliswoman.

Wilkinson has known Fishlock for a number of years and puts her in the same bracket as some of the other greats of the game that she’s managed.

“Jess is an icon of the women’s game, and I’ve known her ever since I’ve started playing. She’s definitely younger than me but she’s of the same generation, and so I knew a lot about her before I started coaching her.

“I’ve also coached a lot of women in similar positions like Christine Sinclair, Sophie Schmidt, and all of these women surprise; Jess is no different. These players really care about the little things and the finer details, they take care of themselves, they show the young players every day what it means to be a professional.

“What I love to see from her and what she does so well is how supportive she is of the next generation, and we sometimes don’t realise how big a thumbs up or a compliment can be from a player like her in training.”

Ingle also was keen to heap praise on Fishlock, a player who has always been there for Wales through thick and thin.

“We all know her quality on the pitch, but more importantly off the pitch, we also know how humble she is and how dedicated she is to our national team over how ever many years it’s been for her playing for Wales. I think the stat is out of those 150 games, she’s started 148 of them. That’s mind-blowing.

“The fact she’s also played in America for ten years and that she keeps flying back and never miss a single Welsh game shows how much she cares for the team and the country. For us girls, seeing that dedication to the national team means so much.”

Kosovo test

Tomorrow sees Wales face off against Kosovo in their second European Qualifying game.

After beating Croatia 4-0 on Friday night, Wilkinson believes the players have set themselves a new standard. However, she knows Kosovo won’t be an easy challenge.

“They didn’t lose a game in 2023, and they have some really interesting players. I think the coach is working really hard to have them playing quite clear tactics, they’re trying new things, and I love when countries try to push standards and try different things.

“I expect them to give everything they have for their country, and I expect the same from us. That performance against Croatia is the new standard, and that is the minimum from now on.”

This will be the first time a Welsh men’s or women’s team has faced off against Kosovo.

That fact in itself is exciting for Fishlock, but the most important thing for the captain is that Wales return home with all three points.

“It is exciting playing new opposition. I remember saying to the girls that I’ve never been to Kosovo, and it’s not very often I go to new places!

“There’s something quite nice about them being an unknown quantity for us, and the same will go for them of course because they have never played us. We’ll go into this game making sure that we’re focused on ourselves and be at our highest level and get the three points.”

(Featured Image: Nik Mesney/FAW)