Northern Ireland's record goalscorer Furness retires

Rachel Furness, Northern Ireland's grounds goalscorer, has announced her status from football.

At nine level, the 36-year-old played for a fig of sides successful England including Sunderland, Reading, Tottenham, Liverpool, Bristol City and Newcastle United.

After making her planetary debut successful 2005, the midfielder won 95 caps and scored 38 goals for Northern Ireland.

Furness played a cardinal relation successful NI's qualification for the Euro 2022 finals - the county's archetypal large women's tournament.

Her last Northern Ireland quality came distant to Hungary successful the Nations League successful October 2023, though she was precocious recalled successful April's planetary model and was portion of the squad for Nations League matches with Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Born successful Newcastle and qualifying for Northern Ireland done her parent and grandfather, Furness made her elder planetary debut arsenic a teen successful 2005 - soon aft the squad had been reformed.

Furness was integral to Northern Ireland's historical qualification for Euro 2022, scoring 5 goals, and her dedication to her state was showcased successful the play-off archetypal limb successful Ukraine.

After scoring the opening goal, she attempted to play connected contempt sustaining what turned retired to beryllium a breached leg. In the 2nd leg, she was determination heading each shot and cheering each tackle whilst connected crutches connected the sidelines.

She recovered and became Northern Ireland's grounds goalscorer successful November 2021 erstwhile she netted doubly successful a World Cup qualifying triumph implicit North Macedonia astatine Seaview.

Furness played successful each 3 matches astatine the finals successful Southampton, delayed a twelvemonth by Covid, providing the assistance for Julie Nelson's celebrated header against Norway.

She stepped distant from planetary work pursuing the tournament, which she aboriginal revealed successful an affectional interrogation to BBC Sport NI was to look aft her intelligence health.

She made a long-awaited instrumentality to the squad distant to Wales the pursuing April, and her past headdress came successful Hungary successful October 2023 arsenic injuries constricted her involvement.

However, her lasting was inactive wide erstwhile she was drafted successful arsenic a last-minute telephone up for April's crippled astatine location to Romania, providing important acquisition successful a young squad, and she retained her spot for the concluding fixtures successful the Women's Nations League campaign.

After starting her nine vocation astatine Sunderland, Furness had a stint a Newcastle United, wherever she recovered from a superior genu wounded earlier she spent a summertime successful Iceland with Grindavik successful 2010.

She returned to England with Sunderland, wherever she won the Premier League Nations Division rubric successful her six years astatine the club.

When Sunderland reverted to part-time status, Furness moved connected to Reading successful 2017 and had a indebtedness spell astatine Tottenham Hotspur.

The astir palmy stint of her nine career, which besides aligned with Northern Ireland's historical spell, came erstwhile she signed for Liverpool successful 2019.

Furness helped Liverpool backmost to the apical formation successful 2023 and made it back-to-back Championship titles erstwhile she played an integral relation successful Bristol City's promotion the pursuing season.

However, her imagination had ever been to play for her puerility club, Newcastle, and she signed a one-year woody successful July.

It was fitting that she got to unrecorded retired her imagination astatine Newcastle, and though injuries constricted her engagement passim the season, she helped the Magpies to 5th spot successful the Championship table.

With injuries limiting her minutes and Tanya Oxtoby's youthful approach, Furness' quality is not wholly unexpected but does awesome the latest changing of the defender for Northern Ireland.

However, conscionable similar erstwhile Marissa Callaghan announced her retirement, is it bittersweet to spot different of Northern Ireland's history-making Euro 2022 squad telephone clip connected their clip successful green.

As a player, Furness volition beryllium remembered arsenic a fearless rival who made past by becoming the grounds goalscorer for her country.

One of the astir important strikes was successful the historical Euro 2022 play-off archetypal limb successful Ukraine, erstwhile she netted the opening extremity earlier she tried to play connected aft sustaining a breached leg. That sums up her dedication to her country.

Away from her goals, 1 of the standout memories of Furness is her dancing astir with her crutches successful the aerial aft the play-off triumph implicit Ukraine.

Furness besides had a immense interaction disconnected the pitch, and her openness astir her intelligence wellness struggles were inspiring arsenic she encouraged different players to beryllium unfastened astir their feelings and to basal up for their beliefs.

Her communicative is 1 of resilience and perseverance, and her all-round presence, not conscionable her footballing ability, means she volition beryllium regarded arsenic 1 of the astir impactful players successful Northern Ireland's storied history.