Sophie Ingle addresses whether she will be ready for Wales’ Euro 2025 opener | OneFootball

Sophie Ingle (pictured for Chelsea) has addressed whether she will be ready to play for Wales in their Women’s Euro 2025 opener. (James Holyoak/SPP)

Sophie Ingle insists she will be ready to play for Wales in their Women’s Euro 2025 opener against the Netherlands.

The 33-year-old has been out of action since suffering an ACL injury with Chelsea last September.

She suffered the injury in a friendly against Dutch side Feyenoord. It proved to be her last game for Chelsea as she is leaving the club at the end of her contract this summer.

Ingle defied the odds by recovering in time to be named for Rhian Wilkinson’s 23-player squad for Euro 2025.

It will be the first time that Wales have had a women’s side play at the finals of a major international tournament.

Will Sophie Ingle be ready for Wales’ Euro 2025 opener?

Wales star Sophie Ingle insists she will be ready for her country’s Women’s Euro 2025 opener against the Netherlands.

The match will take place on Saturday, July 5th, in Lucerne. Wales have been drawn in Group D for the tournament in Switzerland which also consists of England and France.

When asked whether she will be available, she told reporters: “Yes. I feel good. I’m still ticking off a few things over the next week with the medical team but I’m in a good place on the pitch and all my testing is improving.

“I do feel really good on the pitch right now and whatever role I’m needed [to play] for the team I’ll be ready, but I’m still trying to push through the fitness side of things for the next week.

“I’ve been working hard in the heat and I’ve got to play some football as well which is nice. We’ve got four days of training in a row and then an in-house friendly match.”

The return of Ingle will be valuable for Wales at a major tournament. She currently has 141 caps to her name, and even during her absence, has had a big presence on the sidelines by attending recent training camps as part of her rehabilitation.

Why did Rhian Wilkinson include Ingle in Wales’ Euro 2025 squad?

Rhian Wilkinson has given Sophie Ingle the chance to play at Women’s Euro 2025 despite not playing a game in nine months due to her ACL injury.

The Wales head coach said in the press conference following her squad announcement, that Ingle can contribute for her country during this summer’s tournament.

She said: “We needed to make sure that Sophie Ingle was in a good place. She’s still on her path to full fitness but she’s in a position where she can contribute which is important for us. It’s a really great mix in this squad which is exciting for me.”

The Wales head coach added: “I don’t want to get into (what role Ingle will be able to play) specifically because Sophie’s pushing, she’s looking really good in training.”

Wales Euro 2025 schedule

Wales are in arguably the ‘group of death’ at the Women’s Euro 2025. They have been placed in a difficult group D alongside the last two winners of the competition, as well as one of the favourites to win this summer’s tournament.

The Netherlands won Euro 2017, before England triumphed at Wembley in 2022. France have never won the Euros but will be a strong threat to win the competition this summer.

The Euro 2025 fixture schedule shows that Wales kick off their competition against the Netherlands on July 5th. They then face France on July 9th and England on July 13th.

According to the best UK betting sites, Wales are 200/1 outsiders to win the tournament. Meanwhile, all three of their Group D rivals are among the top six favourites to lift the trophy next month.