Wales played their first international association football match on 25 March 1876 against Scotland. [1] As of September 2021, fifteen Welsh international players have scored a hat-trick (three goals) or more in a game. The first player to achieve the feat was John Price who scored four goals against Ireland on 25 February 1882. [2] Other than Price, three other players have scored four goals during a match, Jack Doughty against Ireland in 1888, Mel Charles against Northern Ireland in 1962 and Ian Edwards against Malta in 1978. [2]
Wales' first five hat-tricks were all scored against the same opposition, Ireland, before Trevor Ford scored three times against Belgium on 23 November 1949, also becoming the first Welsh player to score a hat-trick against a team not from the home nations. [2] As of September 2021 the most recent player to score a hat-trick for Wales was Gareth Bale, in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Belarus on 5 September 2021. [3]
Wales have conceded 26 hat-tricks during their history, [a] the first being scored by Clement Mitchell in a friendly match on 3 February 1883 against England. [4] The first player to score a hat-trick against Wales from outside the home nations was Rajko Mitić for Yugoslavia on 21 May 1953. [5] Seven players have scored more than three goals in a single match against Wales, Joe Bambrick's six goals for Ireland during a 1929–30 British Home Championship match is the most goals scored by a player against Wales in a single match. Filippo Inzaghi of Italy is the most recent player to score a hat-trick against Wales, in a UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying match on 6 September 2003. [6]
More than a hat-trick scored * |
Wartime internationals, not regarded as official matches, are not included in the list. The result is presented with Wales' score first.
Wartime internationals, not regarded as official matches, are not included in the list. The result is presented with Wales' score first.
a Some sources attribute a hat-trick to Alex Smith during a 5–1 victory for Scotland on 15 March 1902. [38] [39] However, others, including the Scottish Football Association, attribute two of his goals to other Scottish players. [40] [41]
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The Wales national football team represents Wales in international association football and is governed by the Football Association of Wales. The team are the third oldest in international football, behind only Scotland and England and played their first match on 18 March 1876, a 4–0 defeat to Scotland at Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow. Wales played their first home fixture the following year, which Scotland won 2–0 at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham. Wales met England for the first time in 1879 and recorded their first victory against them two years later, winning 1–0 at Alexandra Meadows following a goal from John Vaughan. In 1882, Wales played Ireland for the first time, defeating them 7–1 at the Racecourse.
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international association football and is governed by the Football Association of Wales (FAW). Between 1946 and 1959 the side played 64 matches. Although the majority of these came against the other national teams of the Home Nations in the British Home Championship, Wales also began playing teams from further afield on a regular basis for the first time. Their first competitive fixture following the end of the conflict was a 3–1 victory over Scotland in October 1946.
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international association football and is governed by the Football Association of Wales (FAW). Between 1920 and 1939 the side played 62 matches, the majority against the other national teams of the Home Nations in the British Home Championship. The side played their first official match after the end of World War I in February 1920 on the resumption of the Home Championship, drawing 2–2 with Ireland. A draw with Scotland and a win over England, their first since 1882, in the 1919–20 tournament secured the second Home Championship in Wales' history. They won a third title in the 1923–24 British Home Championship after defeating all three opponents in the same competition for the first time.
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international association football and is governed by the Football Association of Wales (FAW). Between 1980 and 1999 the side played 133 matches, the majority of which came against other European national teams. The British Home Championship, which had been held every year outside wartime since 1894, was disbanded in 1984. The decision to end the competition in its 100th year was blamed largely on low attendance figures, football hooliganism and England and Scotland's desire to play other opponents. Wales came within one match of winning the tournament in the 1980–81 season. They needed only to beat Northern Ireland, but the final game was never played after players refused to travel following an escalation of The Troubles in Ireland. Northern Ireland won the last tournament, held in the 1983–84 season, on goal difference as all four sides finished on equal points.
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international association football and is governed by the Football Association of Wales (FAW). Between 1900 and 1914 the side played 45 matches, all against the other national teams of the Home Nations in the British Home Championship. Having struggled in the competition prior to 1900, the Welsh side started the 20th century with considerably more success. They recorded two second-place finishes and winning their first Championship in the 1906–07 tournament in which they won their opening two matches before drawing with England in their final fixture, while Wales' Lot Jones was the competition's top goalscorer.
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international association football and is governed by the Football Association of Wales (FAW). Between 1960 and 1979 the side played 118 matches, the majority of which came against the other national teams of the Home Nations in the British Home Championship. Their first match of the period was a 3–2 victory over Northern Ireland which secured a shared Home Championship title as Wales, England and Scotland each finished with four points.
The Wales national football team is the third-oldest side in international association football. The team played their first match in March 1876, four years after Scotland and England had contested the first-ever international match. Wales played annual fixtures against Scotland, England, and later Ireland, and these were eventually organised into the British Home Championship, an annual competition between the Home Nations. Wales did not win their first championship until the 1906–07 tournament and this remained the nation's only triumph before the First World War. Wales improved considerably in the post-war period, and claimed three titles during the 1920s, although the team was often hindered by the reluctance of Football League clubs to release their players for international duty. The situation was so grave that, in the early 1930s, Wales were forced to select a team of lower league and amateur players which became known as "Keenor and the 10 unknowns", a reference to captain Fred Keenor and the relative obscurity of his teammates.