Wales national football team

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
Nickname(s) The Dragons (Welsh: Y Dreigiau)
Association Football Association of Wales (FAW)
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Chris Coleman
Asst coach Kit Symons
Captain Ashley Williams
Most caps Neville Southall (92)
Top scorer Ian Rush (28)
Home stadium Cardiff City Stadium
FIFA code WAL
FIFA ranking 22 Increase 15 (9 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking 22 (April 2015)
Lowest FIFA ranking 117 (August 2011)
Elo ranking 50 Increase 10 (29 March 2015)
Highest Elo ranking 3 (1876–1885)
Lowest Elo ranking 88 (25 May 2011)
First colours
Second colours
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

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.

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

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.

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 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

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

Wales has 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.

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

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

Under Terry Yorath Wales attained their highest FIFA ranking 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 , 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

Carl Fletcher playing for Wales in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4 in 2008 against Russia

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

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 Holland 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]

In April 2013, Dragon Park, the Wales National Football Development Centre, was opened in Newport.

Wales were placed in Group B for qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament alongside Andorra, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus and Israel. In April 2015, Wales attained their highest ever UEFA ranking of 22nd after three wins and two draws in their first five qualifying matches.

2012 Summer Olympics

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.[16] Despite this, Welsh players Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale expressed their interest in representing the Great Britain Olympic football team.[17] Bale was ultimately omitted due to injury,[18] but Ramsey was joined by four other Welshmen in Stuart Pearce's 18-man squad; Swansea City's Joe Allen and Neil Taylor, as well as Manchester United's Ryan Giggs and Liverpool's Craig Bellamy, who were included as over-age players.[19]

Stadium

The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff

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 capacity was increased to 33,000 in 2014 and all home matches for Euro 2016 qualifying were scheduled at the stadium.

Players

Current squad

Wales manager Chris Coleman named a 23-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Israel on 28 March 2015. James Chester, Paul Dummett, Jonathan Williams, Emyr Huws, Adam Matthews and George Williams were all injury absentees from previous squads. Andy King completed his two-match suspension following his red card against Cyprus. Jazz Richards withdrew through injury and was replaced by Declan John.[20]

Caps and goals as of match played 28 March 2015

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Wayne Hennessey 24 January 1987 48 0 England Crystal Palace
12 GK Owain Fôn Williams 17 March 1987 0 0 England Tranmere Rovers
21 GK Danny Ward 22 June 1993 0 0 England Liverpool
2 DF Chris Gunter 21 July 1989 58 0 England Reading
18 DF Sam Ricketts 11 October 1981 52 0 England Wolverhampton Wanderers
6 DF Ashley Williams (Captain) 23 August 1984 50 1 Wales Swansea City
19 DF James Collins 23 August 1983 45 3 England West Ham United
3 DF Neil Taylor 7 February 1989 21 0 Wales Swansea City
5 DF Ben Davies 24 April 1993 13 0 England Tottenham Hotspur
20 DF Declan John 30 June 1995 2 0 England Barnsley
23 DF Adam Henley 14 June 1994 0 0 England Blackburn Rovers
16 MF Joe Ledley 23 January 1987 56 3 England Crystal Palace
22 MF David Vaughan 18 February 1983 39 1 England Nottingham Forest
10 MF Aaron Ramsey 26 December 1990 33 9 England Arsenal
4 MF David Edwards 3 February 1986 27 3 England Wolverhampton Wanderers
9 MF Hal Robson-Kanu 21 May 1989 25 2 England Reading
8 MF David Cotterill 4 December 1987 22 2 England Birmingham City
7 MF Joe Allen 14 March 1990 20 0 England Liverpool
13 MF Shaun MacDonald 17 June 1988 2 0 England Bournemouth
11 FW Gareth Bale 16 July 1989 49 16 Spain Real Madrid
15 FW Sam Vokes 21 October 1989 32 6 England Burnley
14 FW Simon Church 10 December 1988 29 2 England Charlton Athletic
17 FW Tom Lawrence 13 January 1994 0 0 England Leicester City

Recent call-ups

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

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Kyle Letheren 26 December 1987 0 0 Scotland Dundee v.  Cyprus, 13 October 2014
GK Connor Roberts 8 December 1992 0 0 England Chester v.  Netherlands, 4 June 2014
DF Jazz Richards 12 April 1991 4 0 England Fulham v.  Israel, 28 March 2015 (Withdrew)
DF Adam Matthews 13 January 1992 12 0 Scotland Celtic v.  Belgium, 16 November 2014
DF James Chester 23 January 1989 5 0 England Hull City v.  Belgium, 16 November 2014
DF Paul Dummett 26 September 1991 1 0 England Newcastle United v.  Belgium, 16 November 2014
DF Danny Gabbidon 8 August 1979 49 0 Wales Cardiff City v.  Belgium, 16 November 2014
DF Joe Walsh 13 May 1992 0 0 England Crawley Town v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 10 October 2014 (Provisional)
DF Rhoys Wiggins 4 November 1987 0 0 England Charlton Athletic v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 10 October 2014 (Provisional)
DF Lewin Nyatanga 18 August 1988 34 0 England Barnsley v.  Netherlands, 4 June 2014
MF Emyr Huws 30 September 1993 4 0 England Wigan Athletic v.  Belgium, 16 November 2014
MF Jake Taylor 1 December 1991 1 0 England Reading v.  Belgium, 16 November 2014
MF Lee Evans 24 July 1994 0 0 England Wolverhampton Wanderers v.  Belgium, 16 November 2014 (Provisional)
MF Jonathan Williams 9 October 1993 7 0 England Ipswich Town v.  Belgium, 16 November 2014 (Withdrew)
MF Andy King 29 October 1988 28 2 England Leicester City v.  Cyprus, 13 October 2014
MF Gwion Edwards 1 March 1993 0 0 England Crawley Town v.  Cyprus, 13 October 2014
MF Owain Tudur JonesRET 15 October 1984 7 0 Retired v.  Netherlands, 4 June 2014
MF Jack Collison 2 October 1988 17 0 England Ipswich Town v.  Netherlands, 4 June 2014 (Withdrew)
FW George Williams 7 September 1995 5 0 England Fulham v.  Belgium, 16 November 2014
FW Jermaine Easter 15 January 1982 12 0 England Millwall v.  Netherlands, 4 June 2014

Notes:

Most-capped players

As of 30 March 2015,[21] (players still active in bold):

# 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

Wales present a Golden Cap to players attaining 50 international caps [22] Note: players still available for international selection in bold:

Top goalscorers

As of 30 March 2015 (players still active in bold):

# Name Goals Caps
1 Ian Rush 28 73
2 Trevor Ford 23 38
Ivor Allchurch 23 68
4 Dean Saunders 22 75
5 Craig Bellamy 19 78
6 Gareth Bale 16 49
Robert Earnshaw 16 58
Cliff Jones 16 59
Mark Hughes 16 72
10 John Charles 15 38

Notable former players

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

Kit provider Period
England Admiral Sportswear 1976–1980
Germany Adidas 1980–1986
Denmark Hummel 1987–1989
England Umbro 1990–1996
Italy Lotto 1996–2000
Italy Kappa 2000–2008
United States Champion 2008–2010
England Umbro 2010–2013
Germany Adidas 2013–

Managers

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 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

PositionName
Assistant managerKit Symons
CoachesOsian Roberts, Ryland Morgans
Goalkeeping coachMartyn Margetson
Team doctorsDr Mark Ridgewell and Dr Mark Davies
PhysiotherapistsMel Pejic, Sean Connelly and Dyfri Owen
MasseurDavid Rowe
Opposition analystMartin Hodge

Competition history

FIFA World Cup record

Year Round Position Matches Wins Draws Losses GF GA
Uruguay 1930Did not enter
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950Did not qualify
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958Quarter-finals6th403123
Chile 1962Did not qualify
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994
France 1998
South Korea Japan 2002
Germany 2006
South Africa 2010
Brazil 2014
TotalsQuarter-finals1/20403123

UEFA European Football Championship finals tournament record

British Home Championship

See also

Notes

      References

      1. ↑ History of the Irish FA at www.irishfa.com
      2. ↑ Qualification for 1958 World Cup at RSSSF
      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. ↑ Gould accused of racist comments
      6. ↑ "Wales reprieve for Savage". BBC Sport (BBC). 5 September 1998. Retrieved 5 September 1998. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
      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. ↑ Williams to captain Wales
      15. ↑ Wales 22nd in UEFA ranking
      16. ↑ "Wales oppose GB Olympic football". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 6 December 2005. Retrieved 6 December 2005.
      17. ↑ 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.
      18. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18657042
      19. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18675124
      20. ↑ "Watch again: Wales squad announced for Israel qualifier". faw.org.uk (Football Association of Wales). 18 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
      21. ↑ Alpuin, Luis Fernando Passo (20 February 2009). "Wales – Record International Players". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
      22. ↑ Wales Golden Cap

      External links

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