Jess Fishlock can be inspiration as Wales players seek game-time – Rhian Wilkinson

The number of Wales players getting regular football, in top-level leagues at least, is low.

Safia Middleton-Patel has made some welcome appearances for Manchester United in recent weeks thanks to an injury to regular number one Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

However, the likelihood is that she will be back on the bench when USA international Tullis-Joyce returns to fitness.

Middleton-Patel’s main rival for the Wales goalkeeping shirt, Olivia Clark, has been a back-up option since joining Leicester City in January from FC Twente.

Of Wilkinson’s defensive options, Gemma Evans and Lily Woodham are playing regularly in the Women’s Super League (WSL), albeit for a Liverpool side who are at the foot of the table.

Hayley Ladd, meanwhile, is only featuring sporadically for Everton, while youngsters Scarlett Hill (Manchester United), Teagan Scarlett (Arsenal) and Mayzee Davies (Manchester City) – who is recovering from a long-term knee injury – are still trying to establish themselves at club level.

The likes of Rhiannon Roberts (Sunderland), Annie Wilding (Portsmouth) and Bristol City pair Esther Morgan and Ella Powell have, when fit, been getting regular football, though it is coming in the second-tier WSL2.

Wales midfielder Ceri Holland is another Liverpool regular, while Ffion Morgan is getting WSL football for another of the division’s strugglers, West Ham, and Jones has impressed at Swedish top-flight side IFK Norrkoping.

But having been a regular at Seattle Reign in the early stages of the 2025 National Women’s Soccer League season, Wales captain Angharad James has spent much of her time on the bench since Euro 2025.