Ingle set to join Fishlock in the ton-up club
Wales captain Sophie Ingle is on the brink of winning her 100th international cap today when her side resume their European Championship qualifying campaign in Norway.
Jayne Ludlow’s side face the World Cup quarter-finalists this evening in Oslo as they kick off the second half of their campaign to make it to their first major tournament, with the Euros having been postponed to 2022.
Chelsea star Ingle, 29, is set to become Welsh football’s – men’s or women’s – third centurion, following in the footsteps of Wales’ most-capped player Jess Fishlock, who has returned to the squad after 18 months due to ACL surgery, and Loren Dykes, who is unavailable for this match.
Ingle, who plays as either a midfielder or defender, said of the impending milestone: “It’s probably going to be more after the game that maybe I take it in and realise it’s a great achievement, but for now we have a game to focus on and we want to get the best result we can.
“It’s an amazing achievement but right now we’ve got a game to go and try and win.”
It would cap off a stellar year for Barry product Ingle, who was nominated for the PFA Women’s Super League Fans’ Player of the Year award, after the Welsh skipper won three domestic trophies with Chelsea last term.
Well aware of the challenge ahead in facing a side ranked 12th in the world, Ingle said she is “really confident” of getting a result.
“I think the week’s gone well in training, and the girls all believe we can get a result. Obviously it’s going to be a really tough game, Norway are a great side, but as long as we focus on our game plan there’s no reason we can’t get a result out here.
“We are hard to break down, and that’s what we live by.
“We don’t want to concede goals easily like other teams do against them so we have to be disciplined.
“We have the quality within the squad to score goals against these teams, so it should be a really good game.”
Wales manager Ludlow believes her side will be ready to adapt and compete in the first of four remaining qualifiers.
“We respect, fully, the talent the Norwegian team have on the pitch, and on the bench, but we obviously back our own ability and in particular the group ethos we have and the team spirit we have”, Ludlow said.
“Whatever anybody throws at us, we are ready to adapt and compete.”
Wales have gone six months without playing an international, with their last game coming in March in a friendly against Estonia.
Wales are aiming to secure at least a second-place finish in Group C, with qualification running behind due to the coronavirus pandemic, and are currently four points behind group leaders Norway. Wales will have three home games against Norway, Faroe Islands and Belarus this year.