CARRIE JONES.

Photo by Lewis Mitchell [lewismitchellphoto.photoshelter.com]

Sam Southall

There’s something naturally exciting about a player who brings you to your feet, a player that dances around the opposition, a player that makes things happen. But when that player is barely nineteen, it’s excitement on a whole new level.

We’re lucky to have had so many of these players over the last decade and a half. From Bale, Fishlock and Rambo to Dai Brooks, Brennan and Neco, the excitement just doesn’t stop. But one player caught my eye last year and, well, she’s a baller. 

It’s Carrie Jones. Obviously. Haven’t you seen her play? 

It may seem a little bit premature to judge a player based on roughly two dozen professional games but I’ve seen enough. I’m calling it – Carrie Jones is Wales’ next big thing. 

There’s been flashes and glimpses for a long time with Carrie – you don’t make your Wales debut at 15 for no reason – but this year has sealed baller-status in my mind. Every performance has gotten exponentially better and better, and evermore exciting. When she gets near the ball something good is guaranteed to happen, whether it’s a trademark weaving dribble through the opponent’s defence or nicking the ball from the opposition outside our own box. Let’s not forget the little things that bring us to our feet – the quick change of pace, the feints, the line-breaking passes and the moments where you think “god, she’s good”. It’s electric football from a young player that’s balling out. 

It’s no secret that the last international break of this qualifying campaign wasn’t great (you could even argue we were pretty poor), but the glaring positive was Carrie Jones. When nobody else turned up, the then-eighteen year old dragged us to a World Cup playoff berth with her first international goal and two performances that probably should’ve earned her a handful of assists. She made things happen when nobody else could, and did so in style. 

There’s something to be said about players who, when things are going wrong all around them on the big occasion, just pick up the ball and do it themselves. When they manage to do that it’s exciting. But when they manage to do it with a youthful exuberance and a certain intangible thrill,  that’s special.

Carrie Jones is special. Even now, in a team that still includes Fishlock and Tash and Ingle, she stands out from the pack as the player that will one day take Wales women to a first major tournament. But, maybe more importantly, Jones is a player who brings fans to their feet and does the things that makes us love football.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – Carrie Jones is a baller.