Chelsea’s Sophie Ingle: ‘Barcelona reminded us that we’re not too good to lose’

So far this year Sophie Ingle has helped broker a watershed equal pay deal with the Football Association of Wales, received an OBE at Windsor Castle and played a key role in Chelsea’s treble pursuit.

With barely a blank space remaining in the Wales captain’s 2023 diary until July, it seems small wonder she is rather looking forward to watching this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand from the comfort of a sofa. As much as her country’s failure to qualify hurt, the midfield anchor will welcome the rest.

“Not making the World Cup was tough but I’ll love watching it,” says Ingle. “There’s always pros, as well as cons, to not qualifying for tournaments and it means I get time for a proper break. Hopefully we’ll make it to Switzerland for the next Euros.”

More immediately, the 31-year-old intends to reach June’s Champions League final in Eindhoven. Chelsea could take a significant step towards that showpiece by beating Barcelona at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the first leg of a semi-final that offers Emma Hayes’s players a chance to atone for their 4-0 Champions League final defeat against the same opponents in Gothenburg two years ago.

“In the back of our minds we’ll all be thinking of that game,” acknowledges Ingle, whose adored father, Stephen, died a month before the 2021 final. “But we’ve changed a lot since then. Barcelona are a great team and have to be nullified but, if we play to our strengths, there’s no reason why we can’t win. It will be a great test.

“Gothenburg was difficult. We’d like to think it will never happen again. But it also reminded us that we’re not too good to lose. I think we’ve learnt a lot from it.”

With a place in this season’s FA Cup final secured and the Women’s Super League