The Wales men's 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. They have been a member of FIFA since 1946 and a member of UEFA since 1954.
The team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup twice, in 1958 and 2022. In 1958, 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[2][3] – 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.
Wales have made their first appearance in the China Cup tournament; Wales played in the semi-final match against China, and the final match against Uruguay, where they were named as the tournament runners-up during the 2018 China Cup.
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.[4] 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
John Charles on international duty for Wales, against Scotland, 1954
Wales made their first 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.[5] 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 goal scorer 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. They also did not replicate their success in qualifying for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, although they did achieve a highly creditable draw against then world champions England in the 1970 British Home Championship, weeks before England went to defend their title in Mexico 1970 FIFA World Cup. This helped to give Wales a share of the Home Championship trophy for the year, goal difference not at that stage being used to determine an outright winner. In 1976, the team – managed by Mike Smith – reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA European Championship, 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. Wales went onto finish second in the 1977 British Home Championship. A few weeks earlier, Wales achieved another noted victory against then European Champions Czechoslovakia with Nick Deacy and James again scoring.[6] This victory in a qualifier strengthened Wales' bid to qualify for the 1978 FIFA World Cup, but six months later, that attempt ended in controversial circumstances. The decisive fixture against Scotland - nominally a home fixture for Wales, although relocated to Anfield amidst security concerns - was swung by a contentious penalty awarded to Scotland, replays suggesting the handball offence may have actually been perpetrated by Scottish striker Joe Jordan.[7] Another notable achievement for Wales however 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.
Under coach Terry Yorath, Wales achieved a remarkable result on 5 June 1991 when defeating then world champions Germany in a Euro 1992 qualifier, thanks to a goal from Ian Rush. Three months later, on 11 September 1991, Wales achieved a notable double by defeating Brazil for the only time in a friendly international, thanks to a goal from Dean Saunders.[8] At this point, Wales seemed well placed to progress from their qualifying group 5. However, victories for Germany in their three remaining matches in the group, including a 4–1 win in the return fixture against Wales, eliminated the Welsh.
Wales also made a strong showing in their qualifying group for the 1994 World Cup, achieving a noted victory at home to Belgium. Wales thus attained what was then their highest position in the FIFA World Rankings on 27 August 1993. Wales again came close to qualifying for a major championship only to fall short in the closing stages of their campaign. Needing to win the final match of the group at home to Romania on 17 November, 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][10]
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.[11] 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,[12]Robbie Savage[13] 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,[14] 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.[citation needed]
Wales were drawn in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group G. After a defeat at Montenegro in their opening match, 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.[19]Wales under-21 coach Brian Flynn took over from Toshack as caretaker manager.[20]
Gary Speed was appointed as permanent manager on 14 December 2010.[21] Speed appointed 20-year-old Aaron Ramsey captain, making him the youngest Wales captain.[22] In August 2011, Wales attained their lowest FIFA ranking of 117th.[23] After some promising performances, in October 2011, Wales had rapidly risen to 45th in the FIFA rankings.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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.[24] 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.[25][26]
In July 2015, having attained their then highest FIFA ranking of tenth,[34] Wales were placed among the top seeds for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification draw.[35] 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.[36] In October 2015, Wales attained their highest ever FIFA ranking of eighth.[37] 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.[38]
Euro 2016
After reaching the Euro 2016 semi-final, the Wales National Football Team return to Wales for an open-top bus parade through Cardiff city centre.
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.[39] In their second match, against England in Lens, Wales led 1–0 at half-time through another Bale free-kick, but lost 2–1.[40] 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.[41]
In their round of 16 match at the Parc des Princes in Paris, Wales played Northern Ireland and won 1–0 after an own goal from Gareth McAuley.[42] 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 1996.[43]
On 15 January 2018, Ryan Giggs was confirmed as new manager.[52] Despite losing two of the first three qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2020,[53] 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.[54][55]
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.[56][54] 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.[57][58] 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.[59]
UEFA Euro 2020 was played in June and July 2021. Under Page as interim manager, Wales progressed from the group stage after finishing second in the group on goal difference.[60] In the last 16 round Wales lost to Denmark in Amsterdam.[61]
2022 World Cup, Nations League and Gareth Bale retirement
Rob Page remained in interim charge for the 2022 World Cup qualification campaign. Wales finished second in Group E and progressed to the qualification play-off stage.[63] After beating Austria in the play-off semi-final, Wales qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1958 with a 1–0 win over Ukraine.[64]
Following their promotion in the previous Nations League campaign, Wales were drawn in Group A4 of the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League along with Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland, with Rob Page still interim manager.[65]
On 20 June 2022, Ryan Giggs resigned as Wales manager due to his upcoming court case.[66] Page stayed on as interim manager before being given a four-year contract extension in September 2022, managing Wales at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.[67] After a 1–1 draw with the United States in the opening match, Wales lost their second match to Iran after conceding two injury time goals.[68][69] In their final match, Wales were eliminated after losing 3–0 to England, therefore, finishing bottom of the group. Wales was eliminated from the group stage for the first time ever.[70]
On 9 January 2023, Wales captain Gareth Bale retired from club and international football. At the time of his retirement he was the record goal scorer and record appearance holder for the Welsh team.[71]
Euro 2024
Wales began to compete for a place in the UEFA Euro 2024 after a poor show in Qatar, and were drawn in Group D against Armenia, Turkey, Latvia and Croatia. Wales kickstarted their qualification run in March with an emphatic 1–1 away draw to Croatia, which had just finished third in the World Cup in Qatar, thanked to a late equaliser from Nathan Broadhead, before gaining a hard-fought 1–0 win over Latvia at home, leaving impression that Wales is now serious for the qualification and will compete for a place in Euro 2024 directly.[72][73] However, Wales suffered two shocking setbacks on June, losing 4–2 at home to Armenia before crumbled 2–0 away to Turkey, both games saw Wales reduced to ten.[74][75] Wales regained hopes on September and October with a 2–0 away win over Latvia and, most notably, a heroic 2–1 victory over Croatia at home soil to put Wales back on the race.[76][77] However, Wales ended up squander this golden opportunity in one of two penultimate matches on November, suffered a shock 1–1 away draw to Armenia that effectively blew away Wales' direct qualification; another 1–1 draw, this time at home to Turkey, combined with Croatia's two consecutive wins over Latvia and Armenia, meant that Wales failed to qualify for Euro 2024 directly.[78][79] As for the result and combined with Nations League record, Wales has to look forward the play-offs against Finland; who win this fixture will play host against either Poland or Estonia in the decisive play-off match.
The primary kit has long been all-red. The crest of the Football Association of Wales features a rampantWelsh 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.[80]
The team is sometimes known and branded mononymously as "Cymru", the Welsh language name for Wales, by the Football Association of Wales (FAW; or in Welsh: Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru; CBC), as the FAW uses the term in its internal and external communications. In October 2022, the FAW announced it was considering rebranding the team to only use the Welsh name for the country, ditching the term "Wales", following the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The association said it was in discussions with UEFA over how to change the name, and were inspired by Turkey's rebrand to Türkiye and not being the last country alphabetically in some football events.[81][82][83] The suggestion was stated by University of Limerick professor Owen Worth, to be an example of the connection between the team's supporters' clubs and pro-Welsh independence groups such as YesCymru and AUOB Cymru.[84]
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.
Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff
Liberty Stadium, Swansea
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 (now known as the Swansea.com Stadium) 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.
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
↑ Wales 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.
* Red border colour indicates tournament held on home soil.
The New Saints of Oswestry Town & Llansantffraid Football Club, also known as The New Saints or TNS, are a professional football club that currently play in the Cymru Premier. Despite being an English team, they are the most successful club in the Welsh league structure, with 15 league titles to their name. Since the 2001–02 season they have finished as champions or runners-up in every season apart from 2008–09, where they finished third in the league.
The Scotland men's national football team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the three major professional tournaments: the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Nations League and the UEFA European Championship. Scotland, 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. The majority of Scotland's home matches are played at the national stadium, Hampden Park.
The Millennium Stadium, known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and has also held Wales national football team games. Initially built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup, it has gone on to host many other large-scale events, such as the Tsunami Relief Cardiff concert, the Super Special Stage of Wales Rally Great Britain, the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain and various concerts. It also hosted FA Cup, League Cup and Football League play-off finals while Wembley Stadium was being redeveloped between 2001 and 2006, as well as football matches during the 2012 Summer Olympics.
John Benjamin Toshack is a Welsh former professional football player and manager.
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Association football is one of the most popular sports in Wales, along with rugby union. Wales has produced club teams of varying fortunes since the early birth of football during the Victorian period, and in 1876 a Wales national football team played their first international match. Football has always had a close rivalry with the country's de facto national sport rugby union, and it is much discussed as to which is Wales' more popular game. The Football Association of Wales (FAW), was established in 1876 to oversee the Wales national team and govern the sport in Wales, later creating and running the Welsh football league system.
Robert John Page is a Welsh football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of the Wales national team. In an 18-year career in the Premier League and the English Football League, he made 550 competitive appearances for six different clubs. He both captained a team and scored a goal in each of the top four divisions of English football. He also gained 41 caps for Wales in a ten-year international career, captaining the side once, before he retired from international football in September 2006.
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Jon Cameron Toshack is a Welsh professional football coach and former player. Toshack recently served as assistant head coach at Premier League club Leeds United.
The Russia national football team represents the Russian Federation in men's international football. It is controlled by the Russian Football Union, the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home ground is the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and their head coach is Valery Karpin.
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international association football. The team played their first match in March 1876 against Scotland before hosting their first home match the following year against the same opponent. The location selected for the fixture was the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham, the world's oldest international football ground still in use. The ground hosted all of Wales's matches until 1890, when a game was played against Ireland in the English border town of Shrewsbury. Wales played matches in several parts of the country, including Bangor, Cardiff, and Swansea over the following two decades.
The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been contested every four years since 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to the Second World War.
The role of a Wales national football team manager was first established in 1876, when the Wales national football team was established, and the team was chosen by a panel of selectors. The team captain would at that point fulfil the role of match day coach. Since 1954 a manager has been appointed by the Football Association of Wales.
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.
As founder members of UEFA, the governing body for all football in Europe, the Wales national football team has participated in all but one UEFA European Championship since it began as the European Nations' Cup in 1960. The tournament has been played every four years since then, with qualifying matches being played in the two years before each tournament.
Benjamin George Cabango is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL Championship club Swansea City and the Wales national team.
Dylan James Christopher Levitt is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Hibernian and the Wales national team.
The Wales national football team is the third-oldest side in international association football.
The Wales bucket hat is a colourful bucket hat worn by supporters particularly of the Wales national football team. The hat was originally red, yellow and green, designed by Spirit of '58. It initially gained wide popularity during Wales's participation in the UEFA Euro 2016 championships. Other designs of the bucket hat have subsequently become available. Giant versions of the bucket hats were placed in city centres around Wales during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
↑ "World Cup 1958 Qualifying". Rec.Sport. Soccer Statistics Foundation. 2 September 2015. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
↑ Hughes, Dewi (12 November 2004). "Time for Toshack to deliver". BBC Sport. BBC. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2004.
↑ Pritchard, Dafydd (1 July 2016). "Wales 3–1 Belgium". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
↑ McNulty, Phil (6 July 2016). "Portugal 2–0 Wales". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
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1 (30 November 2023) [1] 
Scotland 4–0 Wales 
