TheWales national football team (Welsh:Tîm pêl-droed cenedlaethol Cymru) representsWales in men's internationalfootball. It is controlled by theFootball Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body forfootball in Wales. They have been a member ofFIFA since 1946 and a member ofUEFA since 1954.
Wales have qualified for theFIFA World Cup twice, in1958 and2022. In 1958, they reached the quarter-finals before losing to eventual championsBrazil. 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 theFIFA World Ranking between August 2011 and October 2015[3][4][5][6] – they qualified forUEFA Euro 2016, where they reached the semi-finals before again losing to the eventual champions,Portugal. A second successiveUEFA European Championship followed when Wales reached the round of 16 ofUEFA Euro 2020. They also progressed throughUEFA 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 played itsfirst competitive match on 25 March 1876 againstScotland inGlasgow, 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 theRacecourse Ground,Wrexham, on 5 March 1877. Scotland took the spoils winning 2–0. Wales' first match againstEngland came in 1879, a 2–1 defeat at theKennington Oval,London, and in 1882, Wales facedIreland for the first time, winning 7–1 in Wrexham.
The associations of the fourHome Nations met at theInternational Football Conference inManchester on 6 December 1882 to set down a set of worldwide rules. This meeting saw the establishment of theInternational 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 theBritish Home Championship, a tournament which was played annually between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales until 1983–84.[7] Wales were champions on 12 occasions, winning outright seven times whilst sharing the title five times.
The FAW became members ofFIFA, 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 toamateur players. As a result, Wales did not enter the first threeFIFA World Cups. In 1932, Wales played host to theRepublic 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 playFrance national football team in a match drawn 1–1. AfterWorld War II, Wales, along with the other three home nations, rejoined FIFA in 1946 and took part in the qualifying rounds for the1950 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.
Wales made their first World Cup finals tournament appearance in the1958 FIFA World Cup inSweden. However, their path to qualification was unusual. Having finished second toCzechoslovakia in qualifying Group 4, the golden generation of Welsh football managed byJimmy Murphy seemed to have missed out on qualification, but the politics of theMiddle East subsequently intervened. In the Asian/African qualifying zone,Egypt andSudan had refused to play againstIsrael following theSuez crisis, whileIndonesia 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 inUEFA.Belgium were drawn out first but refused to participate, and so then Wales was drawn out and awarded a two-legged play-off match against Israel with a place in Sweden for the winners.[8] Having defeated Israel 2–0 at theRamat Gan Stadium and 2–0 atNinian Park,Cardiff, Wales went through to a World Cup finals tournament for the first time.
The strongWelsh squad made their mark in Sweden, drawing all the matches in their group againstHungary,Mexico andSweden before defeating Hungary in a play-off match to reach the quarter-finals againstBrazil. 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-oldPelé 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 bookWhen 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.
Wales failed to qualify for the first four finals tournaments of theUEFA European Championship from its inception in 1960. They also did not replicate their success in qualifying for the1958 FIFA World Cup, although they did achieve a highly creditable draw against then world champions England in the1970 British Home Championship, weeks before England went to defend their title in Mexico1970 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 byMike Smith – reached the quarter-finals of theUEFA European Championship, having finished top of qualifying Group 2 ahead ofHungary,Austria andLuxembourg, 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 the1980 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 the1976 tournament.
The following year, Wales defeated England on English soil for the first time in 42 years and secured their only victory to date atWembley Stadium thanks to aLeighton James penalty. Wales went onto finish second in the1977 British Home Championship. A few weeks earlier, Wales achieved another noted victory against then European ChampionsCzechoslovakia withNick Deacy and James again scoring.[9] This victory in a qualifier strengthened Wales' bid to qualify for the1978 FIFA World Cup, but six months later, that attempt ended in controversial circumstances. The decisive fixture againstScotland - nominally a home fixture for Wales, although relocated toAnfield amidst security concerns - was swung by a contentious penalty awarded to Scotland, replays suggesting the handball offence may have actually been perpetrated by Scottish strikerJoe Jordan.[9] Another notable achievement for Wales however came in the1980 British Home Championship, as Wales comprehensively defeated England at the Racecourse Ground. Goals fromMickey Thomas,Ian Walsh, Leighton James and an own goal byPhil Thompson saw Wales defeat England 4–1 just four days after England had defeated the then-world champions,Argentina.
In the1982 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Wales team – managed byMike England – came extremely close to qualification; a 3–0 defeat against theSoviet Union in their final match meant they missed out on goal difference, but the real damage had been done by their failure to beatIceland 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 thrashedSpain 3–0 at the Racecourse during qualification for the1986 World Cup. However, despite defeating Scotland 1–0 at Hampden Park, it was again Iceland that wrecked Welsh hopes by defeating Wales 1–0 inReykjavík, 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 amatch marred by the death of Scotland managerJock Stein, who collapsed from a heart attack at the end of the match.
Under coachTerry Yorath, Wales achieved a remarkable result on 5 June 1991 when defeating then world championsGermany in aEuro 1992 qualifier, thanks to a goal fromIan 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 fromDean Saunders.[10] At this point, Wales seemed well placed to progress from theirqualifying 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 theirqualifying group for the1994 World Cup, achieving a noted victory at home to Belgium. Wales thus attained what was then their highest position in theFIFA 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 toRomania 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.[11][12]
Following the failure to qualify, Yorath's contract as manager of the national side was not renewed by the FAW, andReal Sociedad managerJohn Toshack was appointed on a part-time basis. However, Toshack resigned after just one match (a 3–1 defeat toNorway) 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.[13] Mike Smith took the manager role for the second time at the start of theEuro 1996 qualifiers, but Wales slipped to embarrassing defeats againstMoldova andGeorgia beforeBobby 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 playersNathan Blake,[14]Robbie Savage[15] and Mark Hughes,[citation needed] coupled with embarrassing defeats to club sideLeyton Orient and a 7–1 thrashing by theNetherlands in 1996 did not make him a popular figure within Wales. Gould finally resigned following a 4–0 defeat toItaly 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 againstDenmark four days later, with Hughes later being appointed on a permanent basis.
Under Mark Hughes, Wales came close to qualifying for a place atEuro 2004 in Portugal, being narrowly defeated byRussia inthe play-offs. However, the defeat was not without its controversy, as Russian midfielderYegor Titov tested positive for the use of a banned substance after the first qualifying leg,[16] a scoreless draw inMoscow. Notwithstanding, FIFA opted not to take action against theFootball 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 inUEFA 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 againstCroatia and the opening Euro 2012 qualifier.[21]Wales under-21 coachBrian Flynn took over from Toshack as caretaker manager.[22]
Gary Speed was appointed as permanent manager on 14 December 2010.[23] Speed appointed 20-year-oldAaron Ramsey captain, making him the youngest Wales captain.[24] In August 2011, Wales attained their lowest FIFA ranking of 117th.[25] 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.[26] 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.[27][28]
In July 2015, having attained their then highest FIFA ranking of tenth,[36] Wales were placed among the top seeds for the2018 FIFA World Cup qualification draw.[37] 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.[38] In October 2015, Wales attained their highest ever FIFA ranking of eighth.[39] On 10 October 2015, Wales lost 2–0 to Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, Wales' qualification forEuro 2016 was confirmed after Cyprus defeated Israel that same evening.[40]
After reaching theEuro 2016 semi-final, the Wales National Football Team return to Wales for an open-top bus parade through Cardiff city centre.
Wales qualified forEuro 2016 in France, their first European Championship tournament, and were drawn intoGroup B with Slovakia, Russia and England. On their Euro debut, on 11 June against Slovakia at theNouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Gareth Bale scored direct from a free-kick to give Wales a 1–0 lead, andHal Robson-Kanu scored the winner in a 2–1 victory.[41] In their second match, against England inLens, Wales led 1–0 at half-time through another Bale free-kick, but lost 2–1.[42] Against Russia at theStadium Municipal inToulouse, Aaron Ramsey,Neil Taylor and Bale scored in a 3–0 win that made them win the group.[43]
In their round of 16 match at theParc des Princes in Paris, Wales played Northern Ireland and won 1–0 after an own goal fromGareth McAuley.[44] In the quarter-final against Belgium, Wales went behind to a long-range effort fromRadja Nainggolan, but captain Ashley Williams headed an equaliser before Hal Robson-Kanu andSam Vokes confirmed a 3–1 victory for Wales. This victory advanced Wales to their first major tournament semi-final.[45]
On 15 January 2018,Ryan Giggs was confirmed as new manager.[54] Despite losing two of the first three qualifiers forUEFA Euro 2020,[55] Wales went unbeaten in the second half of 2019 and ultimately qualified in second place following a 2–0 win overHungary in their final match on 19 November.[56][57] Euro 2020 was delayed until 2021 by theCOVID-19 pandemic in Europe, which meant Wales' next games came in the2020–21 UEFA Nations League.[58][56] 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.[59][60] WithRob Page in interim charge, the team beatFinland 3–1 in their final match to finish top of the group and gain promotion to League A for the2022–23 UEFA Nations League.[61]
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.[62] In the last 16 round Wales lost to Denmark inAmsterdam.[63]
Rob Page remained in interim charge for the2022 World Cup qualification campaign. Wales finished second in Group E and progressed to thequalification play-off stage.[65] After beating Austria in the play-off semi-final, Wales qualified for theWorld Cup for the first time since 1958 with a 1–0 win overUkraine.[66]
Following their promotion in the previous Nations League campaign, Wales were drawn in Group A4 of the2022–23 UEFA Nations League along with Belgium, the Netherlands andPoland, with Rob Page still interim manager.[67]
On 20 June 2022, Ryan Giggs resigned as Wales manager due to his upcoming court case.[68] Page stayed on as interim manager before being given a four-year contract extension in September 2022, managing Wales at the2022 World Cup inQatar.[69] After a 1–1 draw with theUnited States in the opening match, Wales lost their second match toIran after conceding two injury time goals.[70][71] In their final match, Wales were eliminated after losing 3–0 to England, therefore, finishing bottom of the group.[72]
On 9 January 2023, Wales captainGareth Bale retired from club and international football. At the time of his retirement he was the record goal scorer and record appearance holder for Wales.[73]
Craig Bellamy was announced as the head coach of the Welsh national team on 9 July 2024.[78] In Wales' first campaign under Bellamy, they finished top of Group B4 in the2024-25 UEFA Nations League, with Bellamy going unbeaten in his first 9 matches until a 4–3 defeat toBelgium inBrussels.[79]
The primary kit has long been all-red. The crest of theFootball Association of Wales features arampantWelsh 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 theWelsh-language mottoGorau 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.[81]
The team is sometimes known and branded mononymously as "Cymru", theWelsh language name for Wales, by theFootball Association of Wales (FAW; or inWelsh: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 use only the Welsh name for the country, ditching the term "Wales", following the2022 FIFA World Cup. The association said it was in discussions with UEFA over how to change the name, and was inspired byTurkey's rebrand toTürkiye and not being the last country alphabetically in some football events.[82][83][84]University of Limerick professor Owen Worth said this suggestion was an example of the connection between the team's supporters' clubs and pro-Welsh independence groups such asYesCymru andAUOB Cymru.[85]
During theEuro 2016 tournament, the squad's pre-match photoswent viral due to the players' unsual and awkward arrangement in them.[86] At the time,Joe Ledley noted that they were "just not very good at them" but that it had become a good luck charm to not take a proper photo.[87] In 2025, after theWales national women's team had done the same during theWomen's Euro 2025 tournament, a Welsh team spokesperson stated that it had started by accident but has since become a tradition to pose unconventionally for both national teams.[88] It has also been noted that the awkward arrangement of the Welsh pre-match photo goes as far back as 2002.[89]
From 2000 to 2009, Wales played most of their home matches at theMillennium Stadium, Cardiff. The stadium was built in 1999 on the site of the oldNational Stadium, known asCardiff Arms Park, as theWelsh Rugby Union (WRU) had been chosen to host the1999 Rugby World Cup. Prior to 1989, Wales played their home games at the grounds ofCardiff City,Swansea City andWrexham, 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, withJari 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 theCardiff 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 theSwansea.com Stadium) and theRacecourse 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 forEuro 2016 qualifying were scheduled at the stadium and Wales subsequently qualified for the finals tournament in France. All five home qualifiers for the2018 FIFA World Cup were held at the stadium as well as both of the team's home2018–19 UEFA Nations League games. All home games in theEuro 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 theRacecourse Ground, their first match there since 2008.
^Wales progressed throughUEFA 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 Qualifying record section contains only the games played in the qualifying blocks and not those played in the play-offs.
^"World Cup 1958 Qualifying". Rec.Sport. Soccer Statistics Foundation. 2 September 2015.Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved14 October 2015.
^"BBC Sport archive: 1991 - Wales 1-0 Brazil".BBC Sport. September 2010.Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved17 March 2022.;Southall, Neville; Corbett, James (2012), The Binman Chronicles, deCoubertin Books, ISBN 978-0-9564313-8-7
^Hughes, Dewi (12 November 2004)."Time for Toshack to deliver".BBC Sport. BBC.Archived from the original on 30 November 2017. Retrieved12 November 2004.
^Pritchard, Dafydd (1 July 2016)."Wales 3–1 Belgium". BBC Sport.Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved2 July 2016.
^McNulty, Phil (6 July 2016)."Portugal 2–0 Wales". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation).Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved7 July 2016.
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