Wales national football team

Wales

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	18 2 (10 August 2017)
Highest	8 (October 2015)
Lowest	117 (August 2011)
Elo ranking
Current	27 (6 July 2017)
Highest	3 (1876–1885)
Lowest	88 (25 May 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	1 (first in 2016)
Best result	Semi-finals, 2016

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.

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.

During their history, Wales have qualified for two major international tournaments. They reached the quarter-finals of the 1958 FIFA World Cup. They reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2016 after beating Belgium in the quarter-final match on 1 July 2016. This was, therefore, the first time that Wales had reached the semi-final of a major tournament. Wales also progressed through UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying to the quarter-final, which was played on a home and away leg basis but they did not feature in the finals tournament.

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

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 and Wales, until 1983–84.^[1] 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 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 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 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 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

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.

1990s

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 , 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.

2000s

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

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 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]

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.^[12] Despite this, Welsh players Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale expressed their interest in representing the Great Britain Olympic football team.^[13] Bale was ultimately omitted due to injury,^[14] 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.^[15]

Chris Coleman was appointed Wales team manager on 19 January 2012.^[16] 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.^[17] In October 2012, Ashley Williams was appointed captain of Wales by Coleman, replacing Aaron Ramsey.^[18] 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.^[19]

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 FIFA ranking of 10th,^[20] 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.^[21]

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.^[22] 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.^[23]

Wales had qualified for UEFA 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.^[24] In their second game, against England in Lens, Wales led 1–0 at halftime through another Bale free-kick, but lost 2–1.^[25] Against Russia at the Stadium Municipal in Toulouse, Ramsey, Neil Taylor and Bale scored in a 3–0 win that made them win the group.^[26]

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.^[27] In the quarter-final against Belgium, Wales, the last remaining British team, 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.^[28]

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.^[29] Wales were welcomed back to Wales 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.^[30]

In September 2016 Wales opened their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with a comfortable 4–0 home win against Moldova.^[31] in October and November 2016 Wales drew 2–2 away to Austria, drew 1–1 at home to Georgia and drew 1-1 at home to Serbia. In March 2017 Wales drew 0-0 away to Republic of Ireland. In June 2017 Wales drew 1-1 away to Serbia.

Stadium

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 and Wales subsequently qualified for the finals tournament in France. The first of the five home qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) were held at the stadium, with the following two due to take place in September and October 2017.

Players

Current squad

Wales squad called up for the match against Serbia on 11 June 2017.^[32]
Caps and goals updated as 11 June 2017 after the match against Serbia.

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Wayne Hennessey	(1987-01-24) 24 January 1987	68	0	Crystal Palace
21	1GK	Danny Ward	(1993-06-22) 22 June 1993	3	0	Liverpool
12	1GK	Owain Fôn Williams	(1987-03-17) 17 March 1987	1	0	Inverness Caledonian Thistle
2	2DF	Chris Gunter	(1989-07-21) 21 July 1989	79	0	Reading
6	2DF	Ashley Williams (Captain)	(1984-08-23) 23 August 1984	71	2	Everton
4	2DF	Ben Davies	(1993-04-24) 24 April 1993	30	0	Tottenham Hotspur
5	2DF	James Chester	(1989-01-23) 23 January 1989	23	0	Aston Villa
17	2DF	Jazz Richards	(1991-04-12) 12 April 1991	12	0	Cardiff City
20	2DF	Joe Walsh	(1992-05-13) 13 May 1992	0	0	Milton Keynes Dons
19	2DF	Tom Lockyer	(1994-12-03) 3 December 1994	0	0	Bristol Rovers
3	2DF	Gethin Jones	(1995-10-13) 13 October 1995	0	0	Everton
16	3MF	Joe Ledley	(1987-01-23) 23 January 1987	73	4	Crystal Palace
10	3MF	Aaron Ramsey	(1990-12-26) 26 December 1990	47	12	Arsenal
14	3MF	David Edwards	(1986-02-03) 3 February 1986	39	3	Wolverhampton Wanderers
7	3MF	Joe Allen	(1990-03-14) 14 March 1990	36	2	Stoke City
8	3MF	Emyr Huws	(1993-09-30) 30 September 1993	11	1	Cardiff City
15	3MF	Harry Wilson	(1997-03-22) 22 March 1997	1	0	Liverpool
23	3MF	Marley Watkins	(1990-10-17) 17 October 1990	0	0	Norwich City
13	3MF	Lee Evans	(1994-07-24) 24 July 1994	0	0	Wolverhampton Wanderers
18	4FW	Sam Vokes	(1989-10-21) 21 October 1989	50	8	Burnley
11	4FW	Tom Lawrence	(1994-01-13) 13 January 1994	6	0	Leicester City
22	4FW	Tom Bradshaw	(1992-07-27) 27 July 1992	1	0	Barnsley
9	4FW	Daniel James	(1997-11-10) 10 November 1997	0	0	Swansea City

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the Wales squad in 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	0	0	Barnsley	v.  Georgia, 9 October 2016
DF	Declan John	(1995-06-30) 30 June 1995	2	0	Cardiff City	v.  Serbia, 11 June 2017PRE
DF	Ethan Ampadu	(2000-09-14) 14 September 2000	0	0	Chelsea	v.  Serbia, 11 June 2017PRE
DF	James Collins	(1983-08-23) 23 August 1983	50	3	West Ham United	v.  Republic of Ireland, 24 March 2017
DF	Neil Taylor	(1989-02-07) 7 February 1989	39	1	Aston Villa	v.  Republic of Ireland, 24 March 2017
DF	Adam Matthews	(1992-01-13) 13 January 1992	13	0	Sunderland	v.  Serbia, 12 November 2016
DF	Paul DummettRET	(1991-09-26) 26 September 1991	2	0	Newcastle United	v.  Serbia, 12 November 2016
MF	Andy King	(1988-10-29) 29 October 1988	38	2	Leicester City	v.  Republic of Ireland, 24 March 2017
MF	Shaun MacDonald	(1988-06-17) 17 June 1988	4	0	Wigan Athletic	v.  Republic of Ireland, 24 March 2017
MF	Jonathan Williams	(1993-10-09) 9 October 1993	17	0	Crystal Palace	v.  Serbia, 12 November 2016
MF	Andrew Crofts	(1984-05-29) 29 May 1984	28	0	Charlton Athletic	v.  Georgia, 9 October 2016
FW	Hal Robson-Kanu	(1989-05-21) 21 May 1989	40	4	West Bromwich Albion	v.  Serbia, 11 June 2017WD
FW	Ben Woodburn	(1999-10-15) 15 October 1999	0	0	Liverpool	v.  Serbia, 11 June 2017WD
FW	Gareth Bale	(1989-07-16) 16 July 1989	66	26	Real Madrid	v.  Republic of Ireland, 24 March 2017
FW	David Cotterill	(1987-12-04) 4 December 1987	24	2	Birmingham City	v.  Serbia, 12 November 2016
FW	Simon Church	(1988-12-10) 10 December 1988	38	3	Roda JC Kerkrade	v.  Austria, 6 October 2016WD
FW	George Williams	(1995-09-07) 7 September 1995	7	0	Fulham	v.  Moldova, 5 September 2016

• ^RET = Retired from international football
• ^WD = Withdrew
• ^PRE = Preliminary

Most-capped players

As of 12 June 2017^[33] (players still active in bold):

#	Name	First/Latest Cap	Caps	Goals
1	Neville Southall	1982–1997	92	0
2	Gary Speed	1990–2004	85	7
3	Chris Gunter	2007–	79	0
4	Craig Bellamy	1998–2013	78	19
5	Dean Saunders	1986–2001	75	22
6	Peter Nicholas	1979–1991	73	2
	Ian Rush	1980–1996	73	28
	Joe Ledley	2005–	73	4
9	Mark Hughes	1984–1999	72	16
	Joey Jones	1975–1986	72	1

Players with 50 or more caps

Wales present a Golden Cap to players attaining 50 international caps.^[34]

See: List of Wales international footballers with 50 or more caps.

Current players with 50 or more caps

Chris Gunter – 79 Joe Ledley – 73 Ashley Williams – 71 Wayne Hennessey – 68

Gareth Bale – 66 James Collins – 50 Sam Vokes – 50

Top goalscorers

As of 12 June 2017 (players still active in bold):

#	Name	Goals	Caps	Average
1	Ian Rush (list)	28	73	0.38
2	Gareth Bale	26	66	0.39
3	Trevor Ford	23	38	0.61
	Ivor Allchurch	23	68	0.34
5	Dean Saunders	22	75	0.29
6	Craig Bellamy	19	78	0.24
7	Robert Earnshaw	16	58	0.28
	Cliff Jones	16	59	0.27
	Mark Hughes	16	72	0.22
10	John Charles	15	38	0.39

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.

Welsh Sports Hall of Fame inductees

Ivor Allchurch Horace Blew Ronnie Burgess John Charles Trevor Ford 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)

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–

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

Backroom staff

Position	Name
Assistant Manager	Osian Roberts
Coach	Kit Symons
Head of Performance	Ryland Morgans
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 McCuske
Performance Analysts	Esther Wills, James Turner

Records

Tournament history

FIFA World Cup record

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Not a FIFA member
1934
1938
1950	Did not qualify
1954
1958	Quarter-finals	6th	5	1	3	1	4	4
1962	Did not qualify
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018	To Be Determined
2022
Totals	Quarter-finals	1/20	5	1	3	1	4	4

UEFA European Football Championship

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Did Not Enter
1964	Did Not Qualify
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016	Semi-Finals	3rd	6	4	0	2	10	6
Totals	—	1/15	6	4	0	2	10	6

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)

References

Bibliography

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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wales national football team.

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