The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales and the third-oldest national football association in the world.
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.
Prior to qualifying for UEFA Euro 2016, the team had only qualified for a major international tournament once in their history, when they reached the quarter-finals of the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Wales also progressed through UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying to the quarter-final, which was played on a home and away leg basis.
The Welsh national team draws players primarily from the English football league system at all levels including the youth teams, since the main professional Welsh clubs play in the English leagues, with some full-time and part-time professional clubs playing in the Welsh league pyramid.
Contents
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History 1
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The early years 1.1
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1958 World Cup 1.2
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1970s 1.3
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1980s 1.4
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1990–2000 1.5
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2000–2010 1.6
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2010s 1.7
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2012 Summer Olympics 1.8
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Stadium 2
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Players 3
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Current squad 3.1
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Recent call-ups 3.2
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Most-capped players 3.3
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Other players with 50 or more caps 3.4
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Top goalscorers 3.5
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Notable former players 3.6
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Kit supplier 4
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Managers 5
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Records 6
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Competition history 7
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FIFA World Cup record 7.1
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UEFA European Football Championship 7.2
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British Home Championship 7.3
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References 8
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External links 9
History
The early years
Wales played its first competitive match on 25 March 1876 against Scotland in Glasgow, making it the third oldest international football team in the world.
Although the Scots won the first fixture 4–0, a return match was planned in Wales the following year, and so it was that the first international football match on Welsh soil took place at The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham on 5 March 1877. Scotland took the spoils winning 2–0.
Wales' first match against England came in 1879 – a 2–1 defeat at the Kennington Oval, London and in 1882 Wales faced Ireland for the first time, winning 7–1 in Wrexham.
The associations of the four Home Nations met in Manchester on 6 December 1882 to set down a set of worldwide rules. This meeting saw the establishment of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to approve changes to the rules, a task the four associations still perform to this day.
The 1883–84 season saw the formation of the British Home Championship, a tournament which was played annually between England, Scotland, Ireland[1] and Wales, until 1983–84. Wales were champions on 12 occasions, winning outright seven times whilst sharing the title five times.
The FAW became members of FIFA, world football's governing body, in 1906, but the relationship between FIFA and the British associations was fraught and the British nations withdrew from FIFA in 1928 in a dispute over payments to amateur players. As a result, Wales did not enter the first three World Cups.
In 1932 Wales played host to the Republic of Ireland, the first time they played against a side from outside the four home nations. A year later, Wales played a match outside the United Kingdom for the first time when they travelled to Paris to take on France in a match which was drawn 1–1.
After World War II Wales, along with the other four home nations, rejoined FIFA in 1946 and took part in the qualifying rounds for the 1950 World Cup, the 1949–50 Home Championships being designated as a qualifying group. The top two teams were to qualify for the finals in Brazil, but Wales finished bottom of the group.
John Charles on international duty for Wales, against Scotland, 1954
The 1950s were a golden age for Welsh football with stars such as Ivor Allchurch, Cliff Jones, Alf Sherwood, Jack Kelsey, Trevor Ford, Ronnie Burgess, Terry Medwin and, of course, John Charles.
1958 World Cup
Wales made its only World Cup finals tournament appearance in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden. However, their path to qualification was unusual. Having finished second to Czechoslovakia in qualifying Group 4 the golden generation of Welsh football managed by Jimmy Murphy seemed to have missed out on qualification but the politics of the Middle East subsequently intervened.
In the Asian/African qualifying zone Egypt and Sudan had refused to play against Israel following the Suez crisis, whilst Indonesia had insisted on meeting Israel on neutral ground. As a result, FIFA proclaimed Israel winners of their respective group. However, FIFA did not want a team to qualify for the World Cup finals without actually playing a match and so lots were drawn of all the second placed teams in UEFA. Belgium were drawn out first but they refused to participate and so then Wales was drawn out and awarded a two-legged play-off match against Israel with a place in Sweden for the winners.[2]
Having beaten Israel 2–0 at the Ramat Gan Stadium and 2–0 at Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales went through to a World Cup Finals tournament for the first and, so far, only time.
The strong Welsh squad made their mark in Sweden, drawing all the matches in their group against Hungary, Mexico and Sweden before defeating Hungary in a play off match to reach the quarter-finals against Brazil. However, Wales' chances of victory against Brazil were hampered by an injury to John Charles that ruled him out of the match. Wales lost 1–0 with 17-year-old Pelé scoring his first international goal. The goal made Pelé the youngest ever World Cup goalscorer and Brazil went on to win the tournament.
Wales' remarkable campaign in Sweden was the subject of the best-selling book When Pele Broke Our Hearts: Wales and the 1958 World Cup (by Mario Risoli, St David's Press) which was published on the 40th anniversary of the World Cup and was also the inspiration for a Bafta Cymru-nominated documentary.
1970s
Wales 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.
1990–2000
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 Bobby Gould was appointed in June 1995.
Gould's time in charge of Wales is seen as a dark period by Welsh football fans. His questionable tactics and public fallings-out with players Nathan Blake,[5] Robbie Savage[6] and Mark Hughes , coupled with embarrassing defeats to club side Leyton Orient and a 7–1 thrashing by the Netherlands in 1996 did not make him a popular figure within Wales. Gould finally resigned following a 4–0 defeat to Italy in 1999, and the FAW turned to two legends of the national team, Neville Southall and Mark Hughes to take temporary charge of the game against Denmark four days later, with Hughes later being appointed on a permanent basis.
2000–2010
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 ever Wales captain. Wales lost to England 2–0 and in August 2011 Wales attained their lowest ever FIFA world ranking of 117th. This was followed by a 2–1 home win against Montenegro, a 1–0 away loss to England, a 2–0 home win against Switzerland and a 1–0 away win against Bulgaria. Consequently, in October 2011, Wales had rapidly risen to 45th in the FIFA rankings. A 4–1 home win in a friendly match versus Norway on 12 November 2011 proved to be Speed's last match in charge of Wales. The match was a culmination of Speed's efforts which led Wales to receive the unofficial award for biggest mover of 2011 in the FIFA rankings.[10] His tenure as manager ended in tragic circumstances two weeks later when he was found dead at his home on 27 November, having apparently committed suicide.[11]
Chris Coleman was appointed Wales team manager on 19 January 2012.[12] For 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Wales were drawn in Group A with Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Scotland and Macedonia. They lost their first game 2–0, against Belgium. Their second game, against Serbia, was even worse – finishing 6–1 – Wales's worst defeat since the 7–1 reversal to the Netherlands in 1996.[13] In October 2012, Ashley Williams was appointed captain of Wales by Coleman, replacing Aaron Ramsey.[14] Wales won at home against Scotland 2–1, lost away to Croatia 2–0, and won away against Scotland 2–1 but a 2–1 loss at home to Croatia ended Wales hopes of qualifying.[15]
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 ever FIFA ranking of 10th,[16] Wales were placed among the top seeds for the
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Wales national football team
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General
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Statistics
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Players
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World Cup
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European Championship
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1976 (quarter finals on home & away leg basis)
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Other tournaments
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Other FAW teams
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Football Association of Wales
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Football Association of Wales Trust
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International results of Wales
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Welsh Football Online
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Welsh Football Data Archive
External links
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^ [2]
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^ "World Cup 1958 Qualifying". Rsssf.com. 2015-09-02. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
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^ Bevan, Chris (17 November 2013). "Paul Bodin on when Wales were a spot-kick away from the World Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
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^ Hughes, Dewi (12 November 2004). "Time for Toshack to deliver". BBC Sport (BBC). Retrieved 12 November 2004.
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^ "BBC News – Football – An Englishman over the border". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
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^ "Wales reprieve for Savage". BBC Sport (BBC). 5 September 1998. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
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^ "Wales consider Euro 2004 appeal". BBC Sport (BBC). 23 January 2004. Retrieved 23 January 2004.
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^ "John Toshack stands down as Wales boss". BBC Sport (BBC). 9 September 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
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^ "Republic of Ireland 3–0 Wales".
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^ """Speed's Wales are FIFA's 2011 "Best Mover. Reuters. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
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^ "The FAW regrets to announce the death of the national team manager Gary Speed". FAW (Football Association of Wales). 27 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
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^ "Chris Coleman – New national team manager". FAW website.
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^ "Serbia 6 – 1 Wales". BBC Sport (BBC). 11 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
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^ "BBC Sport – Aaron Ramsey replaced as Wales captain by Ashley Williams". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
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^ "BBC Sport – Fifa rankings: Wales rise 15 places to highest level of 22nd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
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^ "BBC Sport – Mark Hughes hails 'huge' Wales top seeding boost for World Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
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^ "BBC Sport – Fifa rankings: Wales enter world top 10 for first time". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
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^ "BBC Sport - Euro 2016 qualifiers: Wales above England in Fifa rankings". Bbc.co.uk. 2015-09-03. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
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^ "Bosnia 2 Wales 0". BBC Sport. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
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^ "Bosnia 2-0 Wales: Gareth Bale and Co seal Euro 2016 place despite defeat as Chris Coleman leads side to first major finals since 1958". Daily Mail. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
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^ "Wales oppose GB Olympic football". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 6 December 2005. Retrieved 6 December 2005.
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^ Draper, Rob (26 December 2010). "Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale move closer to Olympic contention with Great Britain team".
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^ Nabil Hassan. "BBC Sport – London 2012: Gareth Bale to miss Olympics with injury". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
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^ "BBC Sport – London 2012: Tom Cleverley in Team GB football squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
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^ "Gareth Bale in Wales Euro 2016 qualifiers squad after injury". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
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^ Alpuin, Luis Fernando Passo (20 February 2009). "Wales – Record International Players".
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^ Rob Phillips. "BBC Sport – Euro 2016: Who are Gareth Bale's rivals to be Wales' first centurion?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
References
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Winners: 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)
British Home Championship
FIFA World Cup record
Competition history
Records
Backroom staff
Prior to 1954 the Welsh team was chosen by a panel of selectors with the team captain fulfilling the role of coach.
Managers
Kit supplier
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Leighton James (1975)
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John Toshack (1976)
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Ian Rush (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991)
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Kevin Ratcliffe (1985)
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Mark Hughes (1986, 1989, 1991, 1992)
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Neville Southall (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990)
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Gary Speed (1993)
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Ryan Giggs (1993, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2009)
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Gareth Bale (2011, 2012, 2013)
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Welsh Inductee to the PFA Team of the Year (Top Division)
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Welsh winners of the PFA Players' Player of the Year
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Welsh winners of the Football Writers' Footballer of the Year
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Welsh inductees to the Football League 100 Legends
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Welsh inductees to the English Football Hall of Fame
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Welsh Sports Hall of Fame inductees
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See Wales international footballers for all Welsh internationals with a WorldHeritage article and List of Wales international footballers for a list of Welsh internationals in sortable table format. See also: List of Wales international footballers with 25 or more caps.
Notable former players
Ian Rush scored a record 28 goals for Wales in 73 games between 1980 and 1996
As of 13 October 2015 (players still active in bold):
Top goalscorers
Wales present a Golden Cap to players attaining 50 international caps.[27]
Note: players still available for international selection in bold:
Other players with 50 or more caps
As of 13 October 2015,[26] (players still active in bold):
Most-capped players
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PRE = Preliminary squad.
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WD = Withdrew.
Pos.
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Player
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Date of birth (age)
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Caps
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Goals
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Club
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Latest call-up
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DF
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Morgan Fox
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(1993-09-21) 21 September 1993
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0
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0
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Charlton Athletic
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v. Israel, 6 September 2015
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DF
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Adam Matthews
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(1992-01-13) 13 January 1992
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12
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0
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Sunderland
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v. Belgium, 12 June 2015
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DF
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Paul Dummett
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(1991-09-26) 26 September 1991
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1
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0
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Newcastle United
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v. Belgium, 12 June 2015 PRE
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DF
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Sam Ricketts
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(1981-10-11) 11 October 1981
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52
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0
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Coventry City
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v. Israel, 28 March 2015
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DF
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Declan John
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(1995-06-30) 30 June 1995
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2
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0
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Cardiff City
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v. Israel, 28 March 2015
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DF
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Danny Gabbidon
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(1979-08-08) 8 August 1979
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49
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0
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Retired
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v. Belgium, 16 November 2014
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MF
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Emyr Huws
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(1993-09-30) 30 September 1993
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4
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0
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Huddersfield Town
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v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, 10 October 2015 PRE
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MF
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Shaun MacDonald
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(1988-06-17) 17 June 1988
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3
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0
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Bournemouth
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v. Israel, 6 September 2015
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MF
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Jordan Williams
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(1995-11-06) 6 November 1995
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0
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0
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Swindon Town
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v. Israel, 6 September 2015
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MF
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Jake Taylor
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(1991-12-01) 1 December 1991
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1
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0
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Motherwell
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v. Belgium, 16 November 2014
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MF
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Lee Evans
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(1994-07-24) 24 July 1994
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0
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0
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Bradford City
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v. Belgium, 16 November 2014 PRE
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FW
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Wes Burns
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(1994-11-23) 23 November 1994
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0
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0
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Bristol City
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v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, 10 October 2015 PRE
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FW
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David Cotterill
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(1987-12-04) 4 December 1987
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22
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2
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Birmingham City
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v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, 10 October 2015 WD
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FW
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George Williams
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(1995-09-07) 7 September 1995
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5
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0
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Fulham
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v. Belgium, 16 November 2014
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The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.
Recent call-ups
Wales manager Chris Coleman named a 25-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches agains Bosnia and Herzegovina and Andorra to be played on 10 and 13 October 2015. David Cotterill withdrew through injury and was replaced by Wes Burns.[25]
Caps and goals updated as 13 October 2015 after the match against Andorra.
Current squad
Players
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.
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.
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.
Stadium
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.[21] Despite this, Welsh players Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale expressed their interest in representing the Great Britain Olympic football team.[22] Bale was ultimately omitted due to injury,[23] 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.[24]
2012 Summer Olympics
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.[18] 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.[19][20]
[17]
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