Wales national football team

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This article is about the men's senior team. For the women's senior team, see Wales women's national football team. For other national football teams, see Wales football team.
Wales
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) The Dragons (Welsh: Y Dreigiau)
Association Football Association of Wales (FAW)
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Chris Coleman
Captain Ashley Williams
Most caps Neville Southall (92)
Top scorer Ian Rush (28)
Home stadium Cardiff City Stadium
FIFA code WAL
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 17 Steady (7 January 2016)
Highest 8 (October 2015)
Lowest 117 (August 2011)
First international
 Scotland 4–0 Wales 
(Glasgow, Scotland; 26 March 1876)
World Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 1958)
Best result Quarter-finals, 1958
European Championship
Appearances 1 (First in 2016)
Best result TBD

The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales and the third-oldest national football association in the world.

Although part of the United Kingdom, Wales has always had a representative side that plays in major professional tournaments, though not in the Olympic Games, as the IOC has always recognised United Kingdom representative sides.

Prior to qualifying for UEFA Euro 2016, the team had only qualified for a major international tournament once in their history, when they reached the quarter-finals of the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Wales also progressed through UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying to the quarter-final, which was played on a home and away leg basis.

The Welsh national team draws players primarily from the English football league system at all levels including the youth teams, since the main professional Welsh clubs play in the English leagues, with some full-time and part-time professional clubs playing in the Welsh league pyramid.

History[edit]

The early years[edit]

Wales played its first competitive match on 25 March 1876 against Scotland in Glasgow, making it the third oldest international football team in the world.

Although the Scots won the first fixture 4–0, a return match was planned in Wales the following year, and so it was that the first international football match on Welsh soil took place at The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham on 5 March 1877. Scotland took the spoils winning 2–0.

Wales' first match against England came in 1879 – a 2–1 defeat at the Kennington Oval, London and in 1882 Wales faced Ireland for the first time, winning 7–1 in Wrexham.

The associations of the four Home Nations met in Manchester on 6 December 1882 to set down a set of worldwide rules. This meeting saw the establishment of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to approve changes to the rules, a task the four associations still perform to this day.

The 1883–84 season saw the formation of the British Home Championship, a tournament which was played annually between England, Scotland, Ireland[1] and Wales, until 1983–84. Wales were champions on 12 occasions, winning outright seven times whilst sharing the title five times.

The FAW became members of FIFA, world football's governing body, in 1906, but the relationship between FIFA and the British associations was fraught and the British nations withdrew from FIFA in 1928 in a dispute over payments to amateur players. As a result, Wales did not enter the first three World Cups.

In 1932 Wales played host to the Republic of Ireland, the first time they played against a side from outside the four home nations. A year later, Wales played a match outside the United Kingdom for the first time when they travelled to Paris to take on France in a match which was drawn 1–1.

After World War II Wales, along with the other four home nations, rejoined FIFA in 1946 and took part in the qualifying rounds for the 1950 World Cup, the 1949–50 Home Championships being designated as a qualifying group. The top two teams were to qualify for the finals in Brazil, but Wales finished bottom of the group.

John Charles on international duty for Wales, against Scotland, 1954

The 1950s were a golden age for Welsh football with stars such as Ivor Allchurch, Cliff Jones, Alf Sherwood, Jack Kelsey, Trevor Ford, Ronnie Burgess, Terry Medwin and, of course, John Charles.

1958 World Cup[edit]

Wales made its only World Cup finals tournament appearance in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden. However, their path to qualification was unusual. Having finished second to Czechoslovakia in qualifying Group 4 the golden generation of Welsh football managed by Jimmy Murphy seemed to have missed out on qualification but the politics of the Middle East subsequently intervened.

In the Asian/African qualifying zone Egypt and Sudan had refused to play against Israel following the Suez crisis, whilst Indonesia had insisted on meeting Israel on neutral ground. As a result, FIFA proclaimed Israel winners of their respective group. However, FIFA did not want a team to qualify for the World Cup finals without actually playing a match and so lots were drawn of all the second placed teams in UEFA. Belgium were drawn out first but they refused to participate and so then Wales was drawn out and awarded a two-legged play-off match against Israel with a place in Sweden for the winners.[2]

Having beaten Israel 2–0 at the Ramat Gan Stadium and 2–0 at Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales went through to a World Cup Finals tournament for the first and, so far, only time.

The strong Welsh squad made their mark in Sweden, drawing all the matches in their group against Hungary, Mexico and Sweden before defeating Hungary in a play off match to reach the quarter-finals against Brazil. However, Wales' chances of victory against Brazil were hampered by an injury to John Charles that ruled him out of the match. Wales lost 1–0 with 17-year-old Pelé scoring his first international goal. The goal made Pelé the youngest ever World Cup goalscorer and Brazil went on to win the tournament.

Wales' remarkable campaign in Sweden was the subject of the best-selling book When Pele Broke Our Hearts: Wales and the 1958 World Cup (by Mario Risoli, St David's Press) which was published on the 40th anniversary of the World Cup and was also the inspiration for a Bafta Cymru-nominated documentary.

1970s[edit]

Wales had never qualified for the finals tournament of the European Championships since its inception in 1960. However, in 1976 the team managed by Mike Smith reached the last eight of the competition, having finished top of qualifying group 2 ahead of Hungary, Austria and Luxembourg. Prior to 1980 only four countries qualified for the finals tournament and Wales were drawn to play against the winners of group 3 Yugoslavia on a home and away basis match. Wales lost the first leg 2–0 in Zagreb and were knocked out of the competition having only managed a 1–1 draw in a bad-tempered return leg at Ninian Park, Cardiff which was marred by crowd trouble. This led to Wales initially being banned from the 1980 tournament, subsequently reduced on appeal to a ban on qualifying games being played within 100 miles of Cardiff for four years. Yugoslavia went on to finish 3rd in the 1980 tournament.

The following year Wales defeated England on English soil for the first time in 42 years and secured their only victory to date at Wembley thanks to a Leighton James penalty. Another notable achievement came in the 1980 British Home Championship, as Wales comprehensively defeated England at The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham. Goals from Mickey Thomas, Ian Walsh, Leighton James and an own goal by Phil Thompson saw Wales beat England 4–1 just four days after England had beaten the then-world champions, Argentina.

1980s[edit]

In the 1982 World Cup qualifiers the Wales team managed by Mike England came extremely close to qualification, a 3–0 defeat against the USSR in their final game meant they missed out on goal difference, but the real damage had been done by their failure to beat Iceland in their last home game, the match eventually finishing 2–2 after several hold-ups due to floodlight failures.

Mark Hughes marked his debut for Wales by scoring the only goal of the game as England were defeated once again in 1984. The following season, Hughes was again on target, scoring a wonder goal as Wales thrashed Spain 3–0 at The Racecourse during qualification for the 1986 World Cup. However, despite beating Scotland 1–0 at Hampden Park, it was again Iceland that wrecked Welsh hopes by beating Wales 1–0 in Reykjavik and for the second World Cup in a row Wales missed out on goal difference. Wales had to win their last match at home to Scotland to be guaranteed at least a play-off, but were held to a 1–1 draw in a match marred by the death of Scotland manager Jock Stein who collapsed from a heart attack at the end of the game.

1990–2000[edit]

Under Terry Yorath Wales attained their highest FIFA ranking until then of 27th in August 1993. Wales came close, once again, to qualifying for a major championship when they came within a whisker of reaching the 1994 World Cup. Needing to win the final game of the group at home to Romania, Paul Bodin missed a penalty when the scores were level 1–1; the miss was immediately followed by Romania taking the lead and going on to win 2–1.[3]

Following the failure to qualify Yorath's contract as manager of the national side was not renewed by the FAW and John Toshack, then manager of Real Sociedad, was appointed as a part-time manager. However, Toshack resigned after just one game – a 3–1 defeat to Norway – citing problems with the FAW as his reason for leaving, although he was sure to have been shocked at being booed off the pitch at Ninian Park by the Welsh fans still reeling from the dismissal of Yorath.[4] Mike Smith took the Wales manager role for the second time at the start of the Euro 96 qualifiers but Wales slipped to embarrassing defeats against Moldova and Georgia before Bobby Gould was appointed in June 1995.

Gould's time in charge of Wales is seen as a dark period by Welsh football fans. His questionable tactics and public fallings-out with players Nathan Blake,[5] Robbie Savage[6] and Mark Hughes[citation needed], coupled with embarrassing defeats to club side Leyton Orient and a 7–1 thrashing by the Netherlands in 1996 did not make him a popular figure within Wales. Gould finally resigned following a 4–0 defeat to Italy in 1999, and the FAW turned to two legends of the national team, Neville Southall and Mark Hughes to take temporary charge of the game against Denmark four days later, with Hughes later being appointed on a permanent basis.

2000–2010[edit]

Under Mark Hughes, Wales came close to qualifying for a place at UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal, being narrowly defeated by Russia in the play-offs. The defeat, however, was not without its controversy as Russian midfield player, Yegor Titov, tested positive for the use of a banned substance after the first qualifying leg,[7] a scoreless draw in Moscow. However, the sport's governing body decided to take no action against the Football Union of Russia other than instructing them not to play Titov again, and the Russian team went on to beat Wales in Cardiff 1–0 to qualify for UEFA Euro 2004.

Following a disappointing start to 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6, Hughes left his role with the national team to take over as manager of English Premier League outfit Blackburn Rovers. On 12 November 2004, John Toshack was appointed manager for the second time.

In UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying, Wales were drawn in Group D alongside Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, Cyprus and San Marino. The team's performance was disappointing, finishing fifth in the group with expected defeat at home to Germany yet an unexpected draw away, a loss away and a goalless draw at home to the Czech Republic, a loss away and 2–2 draw at home to the Republic of Ireland, a 3–0 home win and uninspiring 2–1 away win against minnows San Marino, a 3–1 home win and 3–1 away defeat against Cyprus, and a spectacularly mixed performance against Slovakia, losing 5–1 at home and winning 5–2 away. However, better performances towards the end of the competition by a team containing, of necessity because of injuries and suspensions of senior players, no fewer than five players who were eligible for selection for the Under-21 squad was viewed as a hopeful sign of future progress for the team.

In 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4, Wales made a promising start, winning 1–0 and 2–0 against Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein, respectively. However, they lost their next game against Russia in Moscow, 2–1, after Joe Ledley had briefly drawn them level. The qualifying campaign showed signs of promise when the team managed to prevent Germany from scoring for 74 minutes of their match in Mönchengladbach, but the match eventually finished 1–0 to Germany. Two 2–0 home defeats by Finland and Germany in Spring 2009 effectively put paid to Wales' hopes of qualification.

Wales were drawn in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group G with Montenegro, Bulgaria, Switzerland and close rivals England. Wales lost 1–0 away to Montenegro in their opening game and, on 9 September 2010, John Toshack stood down as manager after being disappointed at previous results in 2010 against Croatia and the opening UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier.[8]

The Wales Under-21 coach Brian Flynn took over from Toshack as caretaker manager with a view to a possible permanent appointment but a 1–0 home defeat to Bulgaria and 4–1 away loss to Switzerland meant that the FAW passed over Flynn.

2010s[edit]

The Wales team on 11 October 2011 ahead of their UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match against Bulgaria in Sofia

Gary Speed was appointed as permanent manager on 14 December 2010. Speed's first game as Wales manager was 8 February 2011 in the inaugural Nations Cup, which the Republic of Ireland won 3–0.[9] Speed's first competitive match was the Euro 2012 qualifier at home to England 26 March 2011 and Speed appointed twenty-year-old Aaron Ramsey captain, making Ramsey the youngest ever Wales captain. Wales lost to England 2–0 and in August 2011 Wales attained their lowest ever FIFA world ranking of 117th. This was followed by a 2–1 home win against Montenegro, a 1–0 away loss to England, a 2–0 home win against Switzerland and a 1–0 away win against Bulgaria. Consequently, in October 2011, Wales had rapidly risen to 45th in the FIFA rankings. A 4–1 home win in a friendly match versus Norway on 12 November 2011 proved to be Speed's last match in charge of Wales. The match was a culmination of Speed's efforts which led Wales to receive the unofficial award for biggest mover of 2011 in the FIFA rankings.[10] His tenure as manager ended in tragic circumstances two weeks later when he was found dead at his home on 27 November, having apparently committed suicide.[11]

Chris Coleman was appointed Wales team manager on 19 January 2012.[12] For 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Wales were drawn in Group A with Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Scotland and Macedonia. They lost their first game 2–0, against Belgium. Their second game, against Serbia, was even worse – finishing 6–1 – Wales's worst defeat since the 7–1 reversal to the Netherlands in 1996.[13] In October 2012, Ashley Williams was appointed captain of Wales by Coleman, replacing Aaron Ramsey.[14] Wales won at home against Scotland 2–1, lost away to Croatia 2–0, and won away against Scotland 2–1 but a 2–1 loss at home to Croatia ended Wales hopes of qualifying.[15]

Wales were placed in Group B for qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament alongside Andorra, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus and Israel. In July 2015, following four wins and two draws Wales topped the group.

In July 2015, having attained their then highest ever FIFA ranking of 10th,[16] Wales were placed among the top seeds for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification draw. Wales were drawn in Group D with Austria, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Moldova and Georgia.[17]

In September 2015, England dropped to 10th in the FIFA rankings making Wales in ninth the highest ranked British team for the first time in history.[18] In October 2015, Wales attained their highest ever FIFA ranking of 8th. On 10 October 2015, Wales lost 2–0 to Bosnia and Herzegovina but on the same evening Wales' qualification for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament was confirmed after Cyprus beat Israel.[19]

2012 Summer Olympics[edit]

Due to London's successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, a Great Britain team would qualify as of right of being the host nation. However, the FAW stressed it was strongly against the proposal.[20] Despite this, Welsh players Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale expressed their interest in representing the Great Britain Olympic football team.[21] Bale was ultimately omitted due to injury,[22] but Ramsey was joined by four other Welshmen in Stuart Pearce's 18-man squad; Swansea City's Joe Allen and Neil Taylor. Manchester United's Ryan Giggs and Liverpool's Craig Bellamy were also included as over-age players, with Giggs being made captain.[23]

Stadium[edit]

During the period 2000–2010, Wales played most of their home matches at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. The stadium was built in 1999 on the site of the old National Stadium, known as Cardiff Arms Park, as the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) had been chosen to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Prior to 1989, Wales played their home games at the grounds of Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham, but then came to an agreement with the WRU to use Cardiff Arms Park and, subsequently, the Millennium Stadium.

Wales' first football match at the Millennium Stadium was against Finland on 29 March 2000. The Finns won the match 2–1, with Jari Litmanen becoming the first player to score a goal at the stadium. Ryan Giggs scored Wales' goal in the match, becoming the first Welshman to score at the stadium.

With the opening of the Cardiff City Stadium in 2009, the FAW chose to stage most home friendlies there, with other friendly matches played at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea and the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham. Qualifying matches continued to be played at the 74,500 capacity Millennium Stadium until the end of 2009, which was typically only around 20–40% full amid poor team results. This led to calls from fans and players for international matches to be held at smaller stadiums. For the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, the FAW decided Wales would play all of their home ties at either the Cardiff City Stadium or the Liberty Stadium, with the exception of the home tie against England, which was played at the Millennium Stadium. The World Cup 2014 qualifying campaign saw four home games at the Cardiff City Stadium and one at the Liberty Stadium. Cardiff City Stadium's capacity was increased to 33,000 in 2014 and all home matches for Euro 2016 qualifying were scheduled at the stadium.

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

Wales manager Chris Coleman named a 23-man squad for the friendly match against the Netherlands which was played on 13 November 2015.

David Cotterill and Sam Vokes withdrew from the squad due to injury and were replaced by Shaun MacDonald and George Williams.

Caps and goals updated as 13 November 2015 after the match against the Netherlands.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Wayne Hennessey (1987-01-24) 24 January 1987 (age 28) 54 0 England Crystal Palace
1GK Owain Fôn Williams (1987-03-17) 17 March 1987 (age 28) 1 0 Scotland Inverness Caledonian Thistle
1GK Danny Ward (1993-06-22) 22 June 1993 (age 22) 0 0 England Liverpool
2DF Chris Gunter (1989-07-21) 21 July 1989 (age 26) 64 0 England Reading
2DF Ashley Williams (captain) (1984-08-23) 23 August 1984 (age 31) 56 1 Wales Swansea City
2DF James Collins (1983-08-23) 23 August 1983 (age 32) 46 3 England West Ham United
2DF Neil Taylor (1989-02-07) 7 February 1989 (age 26) 26 0 Wales Swansea City
2DF Ben Davies (1993-04-24) 24 April 1993 (age 22) 18 0 England Tottenham Hotspur
2DF James Chester (1989-01-23) 23 January 1989 (age 26) 8 0 England West Bromwich Albion
2DF Paul Dummett (1991-09-26) 26 September 1991 (age 24) 2 0 England Newcastle United
2DF Adam Henley (1994-06-14) 14 June 1994 (age 21) 1 0 England Blackburn Rovers
3MF Joe Ledley (1987-01-23) 23 January 1987 (age 28) 59 4 England Crystal Palace
3MF David Vaughan (1983-02-18) 18 February 1983 (age 32) 40 1 England Nottingham Forest
3MF Andy King (1988-10-29) 29 October 1988 (age 27) 32 2 England Leicester City
3MF David Edwards (1986-02-03) 3 February 1986 (age 29) 31 3 England Wolverhampton Wanderers
3MF Joe Allen (1990-03-14) 14 March 1990 (age 25) 23 0 England Liverpool
3MF Jonathan Williams (1993-10-09) 9 October 1993 (age 22) 9 0 England Nottingham Forest
3MF Emyr Huws (1993-09-30) 30 September 1993 (age 22) 5 1 England Huddersfield Town
3MF Shaun MacDonald (1988-06-17) 17 June 1988 (age 27) 3 0 England Bournemouth
4FW Simon Church (1988-12-10) 10 December 1988 (age 27) 33 2 England Milton Keynes Dons
4FW George Williams (1995-09-07) 7 September 1995 (age 20) 6 0 England Fulham
4FW Tom Lawrence (1994-01-13) 13 January 1994 (age 22) 2 0 England Blackburn Rovers
4FW Tom Bradshaw (1992-07-27) 27 July 1992 (age 23) 0 0 England Walsall

Recent call-ups[edit]

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
DF Jazz Richards (1991-04-12) 12 April 1991 (age 24) 8 0 England Fulham v.  Andorra, 13 October 2015
DF Morgan Fox (1993-09-21) 21 September 1993 (age 22) 0 0 England Charlton Athletic v.  Israel, 6 September 2015
DF Adam Matthews (1992-01-13) 13 January 1992 (age 24) 12 0 England Sunderland v.  Belgium, 12 June 2015
DF Sam Ricketts (1981-10-11) 11 October 1981 (age 34) 52 0 England Coventry City v.  Israel, 28 March 2015
DF Declan John (1995-06-30) 30 June 1995 (age 20) 2 0 Wales Cardiff City v.  Israel, 28 March 2015
MF David Cotterill (1987-12-04) 4 December 1987 (age 28) 22 2 England Birmingham City v.  Netherlands, 13 November 2015 WD
MF Aaron Ramsey (1990-12-26) 26 December 1990 (age 25) 38 10 England Arsenal v.  Andorra, 13 October 2015
MF Jordan Williams (1995-11-06) 6 November 1995 (age 20) 0 0 England Swindon Town v.  Israel, 6 September 2015
FW Sam Vokes (1989-10-21) 21 October 1989 (age 26) 37 6 England Burnley v.  Netherlands, 13 November 2015 WD
FW Gareth Bale (1989-07-16) 16 July 1989 (age 26) 54 19 Spain Real Madrid v.  Andorra, 13 October 2015
FW Hal Robson-Kanu (1989-05-21) 21 May 1989 (age 26) 30 2 England Reading v.  Andorra, 13 October 2015
FW Wes Burns (1994-11-23) 23 November 1994 (age 21) 0 0 England Bristol City v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 10 October 2015 PRE
  • PRE = Preliminary squad
  • WD = Withdrew

Most-capped players[edit]

As of 13 October 2015,[24] (players still active in bold):

Neville Southall played a record 92 times for Wales between 1982 and 1997.
# Name Dates Caps Goals
1 Neville Southall 1982–1997 92 0
2 Gary Speed 1990–2004 85 7
3 Craig Bellamy 1998–2013 78 19
4 Dean Saunders 1986–2001 75 22
5 Peter Nicholas 1979–1991 73 2
Ian Rush 1980–1996 73 28
7 Mark Hughes 1984–1999 72 16
Joey Jones 1975–1986 72 1
9 Ivor Allchurch 1950–1966 68 23
10 Brian Flynn 1974–1984 66 7

Other players with 50 or more caps[edit]

Wales present a Golden Cap to players attaining 50 international caps.[25]
Note: players still available for international selection in bold:

Top goalscorers[edit]

As of 13 October 2015 (players still active in bold):

Ian Rush scored a record 28 goals for Wales in 73 games between 1980 and 1996.
# Name Goals Caps
1 Ian Rush 28 73
2 Trevor Ford 23 38
Ivor Allchurch 23 68
4 Dean Saunders 22 75
5 Gareth Bale 19 54
Craig Bellamy 19 78
7 Robert Earnshaw 16 58
Cliff Jones 16 59
Mark Hughes 16 72
10 John Charles 15 38

Notable former players[edit]

See Wales international footballers for all Welsh internationals with a Wikipedia article and List of Wales international footballers for a list of Welsh internationals in sortable table format. See also: List of Wales international footballers with 25 or more caps.
Welsh Sports Hall of Fame inductees
Welsh inductees to the English Football Hall of Fame
Welsh inductees to the Football League 100 Legends
Welsh winners of the Football Writers' Footballer of the Year
Welsh winners of the PFA Players' Player of the Year
Welsh Inductee to the PFA Team of the Year (Top Division)

Kit supplier[edit]

Kit provider Period
Admiral Sportswear 1976–1980
Adidas 1980–1987
Hummel 1987–1990
Umbro 1990–1996
Lotto 1996–2000
Kappa 2000–2008
Champion 2008–2010
Umbro 2010–2013
Adidas 2013–

Managers[edit]

Prior to 1954 the Welsh team was chosen by a panel of selectors with the team captain fulfilling the role of coach.

Name Career
Wales Walley Barnes 1954–1955
Wales Jimmy Murphy 1956–1964
Wales Dave Bowen 1964–1974
Wales Ronnie Burgess 1965 (caretaker manager for one match due to unavailability of Dave Bowen)
England Mike Smith 1974–1979
Wales Mike England 1979–1987
Wales David Williams 1988 (caretaker manager for one match)
Wales Terry Yorath 1988–1993
Wales John Toshack 1994
England Mike Smith 1994–1995
England Bobby Gould 1995–1999
Wales Neville Southall 1999 (caretaker manager for one match)
Wales Mark Hughes 1999–2004
Wales John Toshack 2004–2010
Wales Brian Flynn 2010 (caretaker manager for two matches)
Wales Gary Speed 2010–2011
Wales Chris Coleman 2012–present

Backroom staff[edit]

Position Name
Assistant manager Osian Roberts
Coaches Paul Trollope, Ryland Morgans
Goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson
Team doctors Dr Mark Ridgewell, Dr Mark Davies
Physiotherapists Mel Pejic, Sean Connelly, Dyfri Owen
Masseur David Rowe
Opposition analyst Martin Hodge

Records[edit]

Competition history[edit]

FIFA World Cup record[edit]

Year Round Position Matches Wins Draws Losses GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Not a FIFA member
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950 Did not qualify
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958 Quarter-finals 6th 5 1 3 1 4 4
Chile 1962 Did not qualify
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994
France 1998
South KoreaJapan 2002
Germany 2006
South Africa 2010
Brazil 2014
Totals Quarter-finals 1/20 5 1 3 1 4 4

UEFA European Football Championship[edit]

Year Round Position Matches Wins Draws Losses GF GA
France 1960 Did not enter
Spain 1964 Did not qualify
Italy 1968
Belgium 1972
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976
Italy 1980
France 1984
West Germany 1988
Sweden 1992
England 1996
BelgiumNetherlands 2000
Portugal 2004
AustriaSwitzerland 2008
PolandUkraine 2012
France 2016 Qualified
Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0

British Home Championship[edit]

  • Winners: 1906–07, 1919–20, 1923–24, 1927–28, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1936–37, 1938–39 (shared), 1951–52 (shared), 1955–56 (shared), 1959–60 (shared), 1969–70 (shared)

References[edit]

  1. ^ [1] Archived 18 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "World Cup 1958 Qualifying". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015. 
  3. ^ Bevan, Chris (17 November 2013). "Paul Bodin on when Wales were a spot-kick away from the World Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 November 2013. 
  4. ^ Hughes, Dewi (12 November 2004). "Time for Toshack to deliver". BBC Sport (BBC). Retrieved 12 November 2004. 
  5. ^ "BBC News – Football – An Englishman over the border". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2015. 
  6. ^ "Wales reprieve for Savage". BBC Sport (BBC). 5 September 1998. Retrieved 25 July 2015. 
  7. ^ "Wales consider Euro 2004 appeal". BBC Sport (BBC). 23 January 2004. Retrieved 23 January 2004. 
  8. ^ "John Toshack stands down as Wales boss". BBC Sport (BBC). 9 September 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2010. 
  9. ^ "Republic of Ireland 3–0 Wales". RTÉ Sport (Raidió Teilifís Éireann). 8 February 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011. 
  10. ^ "Speed's Wales are FIFA's 2011 "Best Mover"". Reuters. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2011. 
  11. ^ "The FAW regrets to announce the death of the national team manager Gary Speed". FAW (Football Association of Wales). 27 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011. 
  12. ^ "Chris Coleman – New national team manager". FAW website. Football Association of Wales. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012. 
  13. ^ "Serbia 6 – 1 Wales". BBC Sport (BBC). 11 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012. 
  14. ^ "BBC Sport – Aaron Ramsey replaced as Wales captain by Ashley Williams". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015. 
  15. ^ "BBC Sport – Fifa rankings: Wales rise 15 places to highest level of 22nd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015. 
  16. ^ "BBC Sport – Mark Hughes hails 'huge' Wales top seeding boost for World Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015. 
  17. ^ "BBC Sport – Fifa rankings: Wales enter world top 10 for first time". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015. 
  18. ^ "Euro 2016 qualifiers: Wales above England in Fifa rankings". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 3 September 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015. 
  19. ^ "Bosnia 2 Wales 0". BBC Sport. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015. 
  20. ^ "Wales oppose GB Olympic football". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 6 December 2005. Retrieved 6 December 2005. 
  21. ^ Draper, Rob (26 December 2010). "Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale move closer to Olympic contention with Great Britain team". Daily Mail (London). Retrieved 2 January 2012. 
  22. ^ Nabil Hassan. "BBC Sport – London 2012: Gareth Bale to miss Olympics with injury". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015. 
  23. ^ "BBC Sport – London 2012: Tom Cleverley in Team GB football squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015. 
  24. ^ Alpuin, Luis Fernando Passo (20 February 2009). "Wales – Record International Players". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 10 March 2009. 
  25. ^ Rob Phillips. "BBC Sport – Euro 2016: Who are Gareth Bale's rivals to be Wales' first centurion?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015. 

External links[edit]