Wales national football team

Wales

Nickname(s)	The Dragons (Welsh: Y Dreigiau)
Association	Football Association of Wales (FAW)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Ryan Giggs Rob Page (caretaker)[a]
Captain	Gareth Bale
Most caps	Chris Gunter (104)
Top scorer	Gareth Bale (36)
Home stadium	Cardiff City Stadium
FIFA code	WAL
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	19 2 (12 August 2021)[3]
Highest	8 (October 2015)
Lowest	117 (August 2011)
First international
Scotland 4–0 Wales  (Glasgow, Scotland; 26 March 1876)
Biggest win
Wales 11–0 Ireland  (Wrexham, Wales; 3 March 1888)
Biggest defeat
Scotland 9–0 Wales  (Glasgow, Scotland; 23 March 1878)
World Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 1958)
Best result	Quarter-finals, (1958)
European Championship
Appearances	2 (first in 2016)
Best result	Semi-finals, (2016)
show Medal record European Championship 2016 France Team

The Wales national football team (Welsh: Tîm pêl-droed cenedlaethol Cymru) 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, founded in 1876.

The team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup once, in 1958, when they reached the quarter-finals before losing to eventual champions Brazil. They then went 58 years before reaching their second major tournament, when – following a rise of 109 places from an all-time low of 117th to a peak of 8th in the FIFA World Rankings between August 2011 and October 2015^[5][6] – they qualified for UEFA Euro 2016, where they reached the semi-finals before again losing to the eventual champions, Portugal. A second successive UEFA European Championship followed when Wales reached the round of 16 of UEFA Euro 2020. They also progressed through UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying to the quarter-finals, though this was played on a two-legged, home-and-away basis and is not considered part of the finals tournament.

Historically, the Welsh team has featured a number of players from Wales' top club teams, Cardiff City and Swansea City. These two Welsh clubs play in the English league system alongside fellow Welsh clubs Newport County, Wrexham and Merthyr Town. However, the majority of Welsh football clubs play in the Welsh football league system. Wales, as a country of the United Kingdom, is not a member of the International Olympic Committee and therefore the national team does not compete in the Olympic Games.

History[]

The early years[]

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 at the International Football Conference 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 and Wales, until 1983–84.^[7] 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 1910, 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 FIFA 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. One year later, Wales played a match outside the United Kingdom for the first time when they travelled to Paris to play France national football team in a match drawn 1–1. After World War II, Wales, along with the other three 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.

1958 World Cup[]

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 John Charles.

Wales made its only World Cup finals tournament appearance in the 1958 edition 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, while Indonesia had insisted on meeting Israel on neutral ground. As a result, FIFA proclaimed Israel winners of their 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 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.^[8] Having defeated 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 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 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[]

Wales failed to qualify for the first four finals tournaments of the UEFA European Championship from its inception in 1960; in 1976, the team – managed by Mike Smith – reached the quarter-finals of the competition, having finished top of qualifying Group 2 ahead of Hungary, Austria and Luxembourg, but this was not considered part of the finals. Prior to 1980, only four countries qualified for the finals tournament, and Wales were drawn to play against the winners of Group 3 – Yugoslavia – in a two-legged, home-and-away tie. Wales lost the first leg 2–0 in Zagreb and were eliminated from the competition following a 1–1 draw in a bad-tempered return leg at Cardiff's Ninian Park, which was marred by crowd trouble. This initially led to Wales being banned from the 1980 tournament, but this was reduced on appeal to a four-year ban on qualifying matches being played within 100 miles of Cardiff. Yugoslavia went on to finish fourth in the 1976 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 Stadium 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. Goals from Mickey Thomas, Ian Walsh, Leighton James and an own goal by Phil Thompson saw Wales defeat England 4–1 just four days after England had defeated the then-world champions, Argentina.

1980s[]

In the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Wales team – managed by Mike England – came extremely close to qualification; a 3–0 defeat against the Soviet Union in their final match meant they missed out on goal difference, but the real damage had been done by their failure to beat Iceland in their last home match, 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 match 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 defeating Scotland 1–0 at Hampden Park, it was again Iceland that wrecked Welsh hopes by defeating Wales 1–0 in Reykjavík, 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 match.

1990s[]

Under Terry Yorath, Wales attained what was then their highest position in the FIFA World Rankings on 27 August 1993. Again Wales came close to qualifying for a major championship when they came within a whisker of reaching the 1994 World Cup. Needing to win the final match 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.^[9]

Following the failure to qualify, Yorath's contract as manager of the national side was not renewed by the FAW, and Real Sociedad manager John Toshack was appointed on a part-time basis. However, Toshack resigned after just one match (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.^[10] Mike Smith took the manager role for the second time at the start of the Euro 1996 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,^[11] Robbie Savage^[12] 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 match against Denmark four days later, with Hughes later being appointed on a permanent basis.

2000s[]

Under Mark Hughes, Wales came close to qualifying for a place at Euro 2004 in Portugal, being narrowly defeated by Russia in the play-offs. However, the defeat was not without its controversy, as Russian midfielder Yegor Titov tested positive for the use of a banned substance after the first qualifying leg,^[13] a scoreless draw in Moscow. Notwithstanding, FIFA opted not to take action against the Football Union of Russia other than instructing them not to field Titov again, and the Russian team went on to defeat Wales 1–0 in Cardiff to qualify for the final tournament.

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 Euro 2008 qualifying, Wales were drawn in Group D alongside Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the 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 – 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 match 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, although Wales ultimately lost 1–0. 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 match and, on 9 September 2010, John Toshack stood down as manager after being disappointed at previous results in 2010 against Croatia and the opening Euro 2012 qualifier.^[14]

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 prompted the FAW to pass over Flynn.

2010s[]

Gary Speed was appointed as permanent manager on 14 December 2010. Speed's first match as manager was 8 February 2011 in the inaugural Nations Cup, which the Republic of Ireland won 3–0.^[15] Speed's first competitive match was the Euro 2012 qualifier at home to England on 26 March 2011, and Speed appointed 20-year-old Aaron Ramsey captain, making him the youngest Wales captain. Wales lost to England 2–0 and in August 2011 Wales attained their lowest FIFA 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 against 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.^[16] 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.^[17]

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.^[18] Despite this, Welsh players Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale expressed their interest in representing the Great Britain Olympic football team.^[19] Bale controversially withdrew due to injury,^[20] but Ramsey was joined by four other Welshmen in Stuart Pearce's 18-man squad: Swansea City's Joe Allen and Neil Taylor, while Manchester United's Ryan Giggs and Liverpool's Craig Bellamy were included as over-age players, with Giggs being made captain.^[21]

Chris Coleman was appointed Wales team manager on 19 January 2012.^[22] For 2014 World Cup qualification, Wales were drawn in Group A with Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Scotland and Macedonia. They lost their first match 2–0, against Belgium. Their second match, against Serbia, was even worse, finishing 6–1, Wales's worst defeat since the 7–1 reversal to the Netherlands in 1996.^[23] In October 2012, Ashley Williams was appointed captain of Wales by Coleman, replacing Aaron Ramsey.^[24] 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.^[25]

Wales were placed in Group B for qualifying for Euro 2016 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 FIFA ranking of tenth,^[26] Wales were placed among the top seeds for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification draw. Wales were drawn in Group D with Austria, Serbia, the Republic of Ireland, Moldova and Georgia.^[27]

In September 2015, England dropped to tenth in the FIFA rankings, making Wales – in ninth position – the highest-ranked British team for the first time in its history.^[28] In October 2015, Wales attained their highest ever FIFA ranking of eighth. On 10 October 2015, Wales lost 2–0 to Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, Wales' qualification for Euro 2016 was confirmed after Cyprus defeated Israel that same evening.^[29]

Euro 2016[]

Wales qualified for Euro 2016 in France, their first European Championship tournament, and were drawn into Group B with Slovakia, Russia and England. On their Euro debut, on 11 June against Slovakia at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Gareth Bale scored direct from a free-kick to give Wales a 1–0 lead, and Hal Robson-Kanu scored the winner in a 2–1 victory that put them top of the group.^[30] In their second match, against England in Lens, Wales led 1–0 at half-time through another Bale free-kick, but lost 2–1.^[31] Against Russia at the Stadium Municipal in Toulouse, Aaron Ramsey, Neil Taylor and Bale scored in a 3–0 win that made them win the group.^[32]

In their round of 16 match at the Parc des Princes in Paris, Wales played Northern Ireland and won 1–0 after Bale's cross was put in as an own goal by Gareth McAuley.^[33] In the quarter-final against Belgium, Wales went behind to a long-range effort from Radja Nainggolan, but captain Ashley Williams headed an equaliser before Hal Robson-Kanu and Sam Vokes confirmed a 3–1 victory for Wales. This victory advanced Wales to their first major tournament semi-final and also made them the first British nation to advance to the semi-finals of a major tournament since England did so at Euro 1996 as hosts.^[34]

The first half of the semi-final against Portugal in Lyon went goalless, but goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani early in the second half saw Portugal claim a 2–0 win.^[35] Wales were welcomed back home on 8 July with an open-top bus parade around Cardiff, starting at Cardiff Castle and going past the Millennium Stadium before finishing at the Cardiff City Stadium.^[36]

2016–present (including EURO 2020)[]

In September 2016, Wales opened their 2018 World Cup qualification campaign with a comfortable 4–0 home win against Moldova.^[37] However, they followed this with a run of five consecutive draws away to Austria, at home to Georgia, both home and away against Serbia and away to the Republic of Ireland. That run came to an end with a 1–0 home victory over Austria on 2 September 2017, followed by a 2–0 away victory against Moldova on 5 September and a 1–0 away win over Georgia on 6 October. Wales finished third in their group due to a 1–0 loss to the Republic of Ireland on 9 October and failed to qualify for the finals in Russia. Chris Coleman resigned as Wales team manager on 17 November 2017 and was appointed team manager at Sunderland.^[38]

After nearly two months of managerial vacancy, former Wales national player Ryan Giggs was named Wales' new manager. Giggs, who signed a four-year contract, led Wales for the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League campaign and Euro 2020 qualification.^[39] Despite losing two of the first three qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2020, Wales went unbeaten in the second half of 2019 and ultimately qualified in second place following a 2–0 win over Hungary in their final match on 19 November.^[40]

Euro 2020 was delayed until 2021 by the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, which meant Wales' next games came in the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League. They kept five consecutive clean sheets on the way to an unbeaten record in the competition, winning five games and drawing one, despite Giggs not being available for the last two games due to legal troubles.^[41] With Rob Page in interim charge, the team beat Finland 3–1 in their final match to finish top of the group and gain promotion to League A for the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League.^[42]

UEFA Euro 2020 was played in June/July 2021 with matches spread across 11 host countries throughout Europe for the first time, rather than hosted by a single country. Consequently the Wales Group A matches against Switzerland and Turkey were held in Baku, Azerbaijan and then against Italy in Rome. Under Rob Page as interim manager, Wales progressed from the group stage after finishing second in the group to Italy, the eventual tournament winners. In the last 16 round Wales lost to Denmark in Amsterdam, Netherlands.^[43]

For 2022 World Cup qualification Wales were drawn in Group E with Belgium, Czech Republic, Belarus and Estonia with Rob Page again acting as interim manager for the matches in 2021.

Team image[]

Media coverage[]

Live television broadcast rights are held by S4C (Welsh language commentary) and Sky Sports (English language commentary) until 2022.

Colours and logo[]

The primary kit has long been all-red. The crest of the Football Association of Wales features a rampant Welsh Dragon on a white shield. From 1920, the shield was surrounded by a red border, and the letters 'FAW' were added in 1926. The badge was redesigned in 1951, adding a green border with 11 daffodils, as well as the Welsh-language motto Gorau Chwarae Cyd Chwarae ("The best play is team play"). The motto was briefly removed in 1984, but the badge stayed largely the same until 2010, when the shield was changed to feature rounded sides and the motto banner was changed from white to red and green. The dragon also changed from rampant to rampant regardant. The motto was removed again in 2019, following another major redesign of the badge, which saw the top of the shield flattened and the sides changed not to curve outwards; the green border was also thinned and the daffodils removed.^[44]

Kit supplier[]

Kit provider	Period
Admiral	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–

Home stadium[]

From 2000 to 2009, 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 matches 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 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign saw four home matches 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 and Wales subsequently qualified for the finals tournament in France. All five home qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup were held at the stadium as well as both of the team's home 2018–19 UEFA Nations League games. All home games in the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign also took place there. A friendly against Spain was played at the Millennium Stadium on 11 October 2018, which was Wales' first match at the stadium in just over seven-and-a-half years, finishing in a 4–1 defeat. On 20 March 2019, Wales played a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago at the Racecourse Ground, their first match there since 2008.

Results and fixtures[]

  Win   Draw   Loss

2020[]

2021[]

Current coaching staff[]

Position	Name
Manager	Ryan Giggs
Caretaker manager & Assistant manager	Rob Page
Assistant manager	Kit Symons
Coach	Alan Knill
Head of performance	Tony Strudwick
Goalkeeping coach	Tony Roberts
Fitness coach	Dr. Adam Owen
Medical officer	Dr. Jon Houghton
Performance psychologist	Dr. Ian Mitchell
Physiotherapists	Sean Connelly, David Weeks
Masseurs	David Rowe, Chris Senior, Paul Harris
Sports scientist	Ronan Kavanagh
Equipment officers	David Griffiths, Kevin McCusker
Performance analysts	Esther Wills, James Turner

Coaching history[]

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

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

Notes

Players[]

Current squad[]

The following players were called up for the friendly match against Finland on 1 September 2021 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Belarus and Estonia on 5 and 8 September 2021.^[45] On 30 August 2021, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Rodon, Neco Williams and George Thomas withdrew from the squad and were replaced by Brandon Cooper, Mark Harris, Josh Sheehan and Ben Woodburn. On 31 August 2021, David Brooks withdrew from the squad due to injury. Adam Davies withdrew from the squad after testing positive for COVID-19 and was replaced by Tom King. Kieffer Moore had to withdraw as a result of being in close contact with Davies. Brandon Cooper, Ethan Ampadu and Tyler Roberts were unavailable for the Belarus match in Russia due to visa issues. Harry Wilson was also unavailable through suspension.^[46] On 6 September 2021, Joe Rodon was recalled into the squad for the match against Estonia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Wayne Hennessey	(1987-01-24) 24 January 1987 (age 34)	97	0	Burnley
12	1GK	Danny Ward	(1993-06-22) 22 June 1993 (age 28)	20	0	Leicester City
21	1GK	Tom King	(1995-03-09) 9 March 1995 (age 26)	0	0	Salford City
2	2DF	Chris Gunter	(1989-07-21) 21 July 1989 (age 32)	104	0	Charlton Athletic
4	2DF	Ben Davies	(1993-04-24) 24 April 1993 (age 28)	67	0	Tottenham Hotspur
15	2DF	Ethan Ampadu	(2000-09-14) 14 September 2000 (age 20)	28	0	Venezia
5	2DF	Chris Mepham	(1997-11-05) 5 November 1997 (age 23)	23	0	Bournemouth
6	2DF	Joe Rodon	(1997-10-22) 22 October 1997 (age 23)	18	0	Tottenham Hotspur
3	2DF	James Lawrence	(1992-08-22) 22 August 1992 (age 29)	11	0	St. Pauli
17	2DF	Rhys Norrington-Davies	(1999-04-22) 22 April 1999 (age 22)	6	0	Sheffield United
7	3MF	Joe Allen	(1990-03-14) 14 March 1990 (age 31)	65	2	Stoke City
8	3MF	Harry Wilson	(1997-03-22) 22 March 1997 (age 24)	31	5	Fulham
10	3MF	Jonny Williams	(1993-10-09) 9 October 1993 (age 27)	31	1	Swindon Town
16	3MF	Joe Morrell	(1997-01-03) 3 January 1997 (age 24)	21	0	Portsmouth
19	3MF	Matthew Smith	(1999-11-22) 22 November 1999 (age 21)	15	0	Hull City
22	3MF	Ben Woodburn	(1999-10-15) 15 October 1999 (age 21)	11	2	Heart of Midlothian
23	3MF	Dylan Levitt	(2000-11-17) 17 November 2000 (age 20)	10	0	Dundee United
13	3MF	Rubin Colwill	(2002-04-27) 27 April 2002 (age 19)	3	0	Cardiff City
11	4FW	Gareth Bale (captain)	(1989-07-16) 16 July 1989 (age 32)	99	36	Real Madrid
20	4FW	Daniel James	(1997-11-10) 10 November 1997 (age 23)	26	4	Leeds United
9	4FW	Tyler Roberts	(1999-01-12) 12 January 1999 (age 22)	17	0	Leeds United
14	4FW	Brennan Johnson	(2001-05-23) 23 May 2001 (age 20)	4	0	Nottingham Forest
18	4FW	Mark Harris	(1998-12-29) 29 December 1998 (age 22)	2	0	Cardiff City

Recent call-ups[]

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

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Adam Davies	(1992-07-17) 17 July 1992 (age 29)	2	0	Stoke City	v.  Finland, 1 September 2021 WD
GK	Owain Fôn Williams	(1987-03-17) 17 March 1987 (age 34)	1	0	Dunfermline Athletic	v.  Finland, 18 November 2020
DF	Tom Lockyer	(1994-12-03) 3 December 1994 (age 26)	14	0	Luton Town	v.  Estonia, 1 September 2021 PRE
DF	Brandon Cooper	(2000-01-14) 14 January 2000 (age 21)	0	0	Swansea City	v.  Estonia, 1 September 2021 PRE
DF	Neco Williams	(2001-04-13) 13 April 2001 (age 20)	14	1	Liverpool	v.  Finland, 1 September 2021 INJ
DF	Connor Roberts	(1995-09-23) 23 September 1995 (age 25)	30	2	Burnley	UEFA Euro 2020
DF	Ben Cabango	(2000-05-30) 30 May 2000 (age 21)	3	0	Swansea City	UEFA Euro 2020
MF	Josh Sheehan	(1995-03-30) 30 March 1995 (age 26)	3	0	Bolton Wanderers	v.  Estonia, 1 September 2021 PRE
MF	Aaron Ramsey	(1990-12-26) 26 December 1990 (age 30)	67	17	Juventus	v.  Finland, 1 September 2021 INJ
MF	David Brooks	(1997-07-08) 8 July 1997 (age 24)	21	2	Bournemouth	v.  Finland, 1 September 2021 INJ
MF	George Thomas	(1997-03-24) 24 March 1997 (age 24)	3	0	Queens Park Rangers	v.  Finland, 1 September 2021 INJ
MF	Will Vaulks	(1993-09-13) 13 September 1993 (age 27)	6	0	Cardiff City	v.  Bulgaria, 14 October 2020
FW	Kieffer Moore	(1992-08-08) 8 August 1992 (age 29)	21	6	Cardiff City	v.  Finland, 1 September 2021 WD
FW	Tom Lawrence	(1994-01-13) 13 January 1994 (age 27)	23	3	Derby County	v.  France, 2 June 2021 PRE
FW	Rabbi Matondo	(2000-09-09) 9 September 2000 (age 21)	8	0	Cercle Brugge	v.  France, 2 June 2021 PRE
FW	Hal Robson-Kanu	(1989-05-21) 21 May 1989 (age 32)	46	5	Unattached	v.  Czech Republic, 30 March 2021 WD
INJ Withdrew due to injury WD Withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue SUS Serving suspension RET Retired from the national team PRE Preliminary squad / standby NA Not available for next match

Player records[]

As of 8 September 2021^[47]

Players in bold are still active with Wales.

Most appearances[]

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Chris Gunter	104	0	2007–present
2	Gareth Bale	99	36	2006–present
3	Wayne Hennessey	97	0	2007–present
4	Neville Southall	92	0	1982–1997
5	Ashley Williams	86	2	2008–2019
6	Gary Speed	85	7	1990–2004
7	Craig Bellamy	78	19	1998–2013
8	Joe Ledley	77	4	2005–2018
9	Dean Saunders	75	22	1986–2001
10	Peter Nicholas	73	2	1979–1991
	Ian Rush	73	28	1980–1996

Most goals[]

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Gareth Bale (list)	36	99	0.36	2006–present
2	Ian Rush (list)	28	73	0.38	1980–1996
3	Trevor Ford	23	38	0.61	1947–1957
	Ivor Allchurch	23	68	0.34	1951–1966
5	Dean Saunders	22	75	0.29	1986–2001
6	Craig Bellamy	19	78	0.24	1998–2013
7	Aaron Ramsey	17	67	0.25	2008–present
8	Robert Earnshaw	16	59	0.27	2002–2011
	Cliff Jones	16	59	0.27	1954–1970
	Mark Hughes	16	72	0.22	1984–1999

Notable former players[]

Welsh Sports Hall of Fame inductees

Ivor Allchurch Horace Blew Ronnie Burgess John Charles Trevor Ford Ryan Giggs Mark Hughes Bryn Jones Cliff Jones Fred Keenor Jack Kelsey

George Latham Billy Meredith Jimmy Murphy Ivor Powell Ian Rush Alf Sherwood Neville Southall Gary Speed John Toshack Terry Yorath

Welsh inductees to the English Football Hall of Fame

• 2002 – John Charles
• 2005 – Ryan Giggs
• 2006 – Ian Rush
• 2007 – Mark Hughes, Billy Meredith
• 2013 – Cliff Jones
• 2015 – Ivor Allchurch
• 2016 – Neville Southall
• 2017 – Gary Speed

Welsh inductees to the Football League 100 Legends

Ivor Allchurch John Charles Trevor Ford Ryan Giggs

Cliff Jones Billy Meredith Ian Rush Neville Southall

Welsh winners of the Football Writers' Footballer of the Year

• Ian Rush (1984)
• Neville Southall (1985)
• Gareth Bale (2013)

Welsh winners of the PFA Players' Player of the Year

• Ian Rush (1984)
• Mark Hughes (1989, 1991)
• Ryan Giggs (2009)
• Gareth Bale (2011, 2013)

Welsh Inductee to the PFA Team of the Year (Top Division)

• Leighton James (1975)
• John Toshack (1976)
• Ian Rush (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991)
• Kevin Ratcliffe (1985)
• Mark Hughes (1986, 1989, 1991, 1992)
• Neville Southall (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990)
• Gary Speed (1993)
• Ryan Giggs (1993, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2009)
• Gareth Bale (2011, 2012, 2013)

Competitive record[]

FIFA World Cup[]

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1934
1938
1950	Did not qualify									3	0	1	2	1	6
1954										3	0	1	2	5	9
1958	Quarter-finals	6th of 16	5	1	3	1	4	4		6	4	0	2	10	5
1962	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	2	3
1966										6	3	0	3	11	9
1970										4	0	0	4	3	10
1974										4	1	1	2	3	5
1978										4	1	0	3	3	4
1982										8	4	2	2	12	7
1986										6	3	1	2	7	6
1990										6	0	2	4	4	8
1994										10	5	2	3	19	12
1998										8	2	1	5	20	21
2002										10	1	6	3	10	12
2006										10	2	2	6	10	15
2010										10	4	0	6	9	12
2014										10	3	1	6	9	20
2018										10	4	5	1	13	6
2022	To be determined									To be determined
2026
Totals	Quarter-finals	1/21	5	1	3	1	4	4		120	37	26	57	151	170

UEFA European Championship[]

UEFA European Championship record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Did not enter									Did not enter
1964	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	2	4
1968										6	1	2	3	6	12
1972										6	2	1	3	5	6
1976										8	5	1	2	15	7
1980										6	3	0	3	11	8
1984										6	2	3	1	7	6
1988										6	2	2	2	7	5
1992										6	4	1	1	8	6
1996										10	2	2	6	9	19
2000										8	3	0	5	7	16
2004										10	4	2	4	13	11
2008										12	4	3	5	18	19
2012										8	3	0	5	6	10
2016	Semi-finals	3rd	6	4	0	2	10	6		10	6	3	1	11	4
2020	Round of 16	16th	4	1	1	2	3	6		8	4	2	2	10	6
2024	To be determined									To be determined
Total	Semi-finals	2/15	10	5	1	4	13	12		112	45	23	44	135	139

UEFA Nations League[]

UEFA Nations League record
Year	Division	Group	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	Rank
2018–19	B	4	Group stage	4	2	0	2	6	5		19th
2020–21	B	4	Group stage	6	5	1	0	7	1		17th
2022–23	A	To be determined
Total			Group stage League B	10	7	1	2	13	6	17th

Honours[]

• British Home Championship
  • Winners (12): 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)
• UEFA Nations League
  • League B: 2020

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Red Dragons: The Story of Welsh Football by Phil Stead (ISBN 9781784612368)

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wales national association football team.

• Football Association of Wales
• Football Association of Wales Trust
• International results of Wales
• Welsh Football Online
• Welsh Football Data Archive