She is Helen Ward's "favourite footballer in the world" and would be the first player selected in Angharad James' all-time Wales team. Kath Morgan, meanwhile, describes her as the "little Welsh girl from Barry" who grew up to be "world class". Sophie Ingle is poised to win Wales cap number 150 when Rhian Wilkinson's team take on Albania in a Women's World Cup qualifier in Elbasan on Saturday.
As Ingle reaches another landmark in her storied career, those who have worked and played alongside her are unanimous in their praise for her contribution to the Welsh cause. "I remember her when she first went up to London [to join Chelsea], committing herself to playing with world-class players," says former Wales captain Morgan. "But [former Chelsea boss] Emma Hayes will tell you, by the end of her time there, Sophie was that world-class player.
"She's Welsh, she's come from us and she's ours. We couldn't be more proud." Watch live on BBC Two Wales and iPlayer from ; radio commentary on BBC Sounds via BBC Radio Wales , BBC Radio Cymru; text commentary and match highlights on BBC Sport website and app. Ingle has come a long way since beginning her junior career with Vale Wanderers, a boys' team in Barry.
She was forced to give up the sport when aged 12 because Football Association of Wales (FAW) rules meant she could no longer play with the boys. Thankfully for Welsh football, Ingle returned to the pitch when her Vale Wanderers coach set up a girls' team when she was 14. She then played for Dinas Powys Ladies and Cardiff City Ladies before joining Chelsea for the first of two spells in 2012.
By that stage, Ingle was an established Wales international, having made her senior debut in a 2-1 World Cup qualifying defeat to Azerbaijan three years earlier, only a matter of weeks after her 18th birthday. Ward scored Wales' goal in Baku, with Ingle coming off the bench. "It was a horrible game, horrible pitch, but this kid just made it look like she'd been doing it her whole life," Ward remembers.
"She's just a top player… technique is unbelievable, the way she reads a game, the way she can find a pass. "She's my favourite footballer in the world." Adrian Tucker was the manager who gave Ingle her first cap, in an era when the landscape was very different in women's football. "She was good technically but she was also really good on the physical side, which was a really big thing at that time," he says.
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