- Seb Sternik
- 28 October 2024
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Together with England and Scotland, Wales formed the earliest version of the international soccer calendar.
Wales were founding members of the British Home Championship and the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
Wales made FIFA World Rankings history with their meteoric rise in the rankings between 2011 and 2015, when the side climbed from 117th all the way up to eighth.
The team holds the distinction of coming from the least populous nation to have reached the semi-finals of the UEFA European Championship. They achieved that feat in the 2016 tournament in France.
The Welsh national side was largely fed by players from Cardiff City and Swansea City who are based in Wales but play in the English league structure. Both clubs have recently enjoyed top-flight status.
Wales qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the first time the nation had reached the tournament in 64 years.
But they missed out on qualification for Euro 2024 after losing to Poland in the play-off finals on penalties.
Wales are currently managed by former international Craig Bellamy.
Wales' early history
Wales played their first match on home soil nearly a year after making their international debut against Scotland in Glasgow. Their first home match, played against the same opponent at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham, saw them suffer a 2-0 defeat.
Despite effectively helping to establish competitive international soccer and joining FIFA in 1910, Wales did not enter the first three World Cups over a dispute between the home nations and soccer's global governing body.
The early years saw the home nations take an insular approach and Wales did not play a match outside of the British Isles until they travelled to Paris in 1933 to take on France.
The 1958 World Cup and the Wales golden age
Along with the rest of the Home Nations, Wales rejoined FIFA in 1946 and embarked upon their first qualifying campaign ahead of the 1950 World Cup.
With the Home Nation Championship serving as their qualifying group, Wales missed out in 1950 and again in 1954 after finishing last in the four-team tournament.
There was a change in qualifying route for the 1958 World Cup with a very good Wales team drawn against tricky opponents in Czechoslovakia and East Germany.
Wales won both their home games but lost in Leipzig and Prague. Des Palmer rattled in a hat-trick against East Germany in Cardiff, but those would be his final goals for his country.
Initially, it seemed as though manager Jimmy Murphy had failed to lead Wales' golden generation to the World Cup but an unconventional path presented itself.
After Egypt and Sudan refused to play them and Indonesia insisted on a neutral venue, Israel were declared winners of their Asian/African qualifying zone group.
Feeling they couldn't simply allow a team to go straight into the World Cup FIFA drew lots to determine Israel's play-off opponents. Belgium were picked out but refused to participate and second picks Wales won both play-off legs 2-0 to qualify for Sweden.
Wales took a team packed full of stars to their first FIFA World Cup, including Ivor Allchurch, Cliff Jones, Alf Sherwood, Jack Kelsey, Trevor Ford, Ronnie Burgess, Terry Medwin and John Charles.
They were handed a tough draw but managed to emerge from a group that included hosts Sweden, Hungary and Mexico.
Charles got a crucial equaliser in their opening game against Hungary which ended 1-1. Allchurch put Wales in front against Mexico before Jaime Belmonte scored a famous goal to secure his country their first World Cup points and deny the Dragons victory. A goalless draw against Sweden meant Wales booked a quarter-final date with Brazil.
Wales were undone by a cheeky finish from Pele - his first international goal - in their last-eight meeting with Brazil but enjoyed a memorable ride at their only World Cup appearance to date.
Wales and failure to qualify for major tournaments
After the memorable debut, Wales failed to make another major championship in the 20th century.
Wales came close to qualifying for the abbreviated 1976 European Championships, reaching the last eight but with the quarter-finals played across two legs, home and away, they were not part of the tournament proper and did not count as a qualification. Wales went unbeaten through their qualifying group led by John Toshack and Arfon Griffiths who both contributed key goals.
They would at least play one match in Yugoslavia as they went down over two legs against the 1976 tournament hosts.
In qualification for the 1986 World Cup, Wales missed out on a play-off berth on goal difference. They lost out to Scotland after drawing against their British rivals in their final qualifying match in Cardiff. Wales had led through Mark Hughes before an 80th-minute penalty denied them top spot in the group and saw the Scots through to a play-off against Australia.
Six years later they suffered another near miss after beating Germany in June 1991 to go to the top of their Euro qualifying group. However, the newly reunified German side humbled Wales in the reverse fixture 4-1 and they would finish second and miss out on the tournament.
In qualifying for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Wales were obliterated by Romania in their opening game, but they had clawed their way back into contention by the final round of matches. Wales needed to win their final match against Romania in Cardiff but came up short, losing 2-1 after Paul Bodin missed a penalty at 1-1.
Under Mark Hughes, Wales were a play-off away from making it to the 2004 European Championships. However, they were beaten by Russia in a tense second-leg tie, that followed Russian midfielder Yegor Titov testing positive for a banned substance after the first-leg stalemate in Moscow.
The emergence of the first Welsh global superstar of the modern game in Gareth Bale played a part in raising expectations for the tiny nation.
Under Gary Speed, Wales enjoyed a meteoric rise up the FIFA Rankings and his work set the nation on an upward trajectory. Speed took his own life just weeks after Wales were awarded an unofficial FIFA honour for the biggest rankings gain of 2011.
Following Speed's death, Chris Coleman was appointed as Wales manager and after a few early hiccups, would end the wait to make the finals of a major championship.
European Championships success
Coleman would guide Wales to the 2016 Euros in France after they finished second in their qualifying group behind Belgium. Wales lost just once in the qualifying campaign, going down to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the penultimate round of qualifiers.
Slovakia, Russia and England made up Wales' Euros group which left them with a tough task to reach the knockout phase.
Wales started strong with a 2-1 win over Slovakia and then took the lead against England through Bale, before going down 2-1 against the old enemy. England's draw with Russia in the opening round left the group hanging on a knife-edge and Wales produced the goods at the crucial moment, sweeping aside Russia 3-0 to win the group.
Wales faced another familiar opponent in the round of 16, coming up against Northern Ireland. The match was a hard-fought Home Nations scrap which was decided by an own goal from Gareth McAuley, who put through his net after failing to deal with a cross from Bale.
In the quarter-final, Wales met Belgium, whom they had faced in qualifying and produced arguably their best performance on the international stage.
Wales came back from a goal down to beat the Belgians, who were among the tournament favourites. They would bow out in the semi-finals, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Portugal but became the smallest nation by population to reach the last four of the Euros.
Wales become regular major tournament qualifiers
Wales suffered just one defeat in 2020 and despite losing their first three qualifiers, reached the European Championship finals for the second time and earned a promotion to the A division of the UEFA Nations League.
The team was rocked by controversy in 2020 however, as manager Ryan Giggs was arrested and suspended from his post with the national team. Giggs was accused of assaulting ex-girlfriend Kate Greville, causing actual bodily harm, controlling and coercive behaviour and common assault.
Rob Page was appointed interim manager and guided Wales to a spot in the top division of the UEFA Nations League.
He also saw them through their group at Euro 2020 before the Welsh were humbled 4-0 by Denmark in the round of 16.
Wales finished second in their 2022 World Cup qualification group behind Belgium, putting them into a mini play-off knockout competition to reach Qatar.
Bale scored two goals, incuding a stunning free-kick to beat Austria 2-1 in the semi-final.
His deflected free-kick saw them edge past Ukraine 1-0 in the final to secure Wales' return to a World Cup for the first time since 1958.
Wales went to Qatar backed by thousands of fans in their now customary bucket hats, but sadly the 2022 World Cup ended in disappointment.
Page's side finished bottom of Group B with one point from three games - a 1-1 draw with the United States preceding a 2-0 defeat to Iran.
England stuck the final knife in with a comfortable 3-0 win in the final group game at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.
The 33-year-old Bale, made a record 111th Wales appearance against England, but underperformed at the tournament with only a late penalty against USA serving as his main contribution. Wales other major star turn Aaron Ramsey also had little impact.
End of the Rob Page era
On June 21, 2024, Page's Wales reign came to a conclusion after an unhappy 18 months that ended with a double dose of embarrassment against Gibraltar and Slovakia.
Page was sacked almost halfway through a four-year contract he signed in September 2022.
Wales’ World Cup excursion would mark the beginning of the end for Page with poor team selection, tactical mistakes and a torrid campaign that saw the Dragons finish bottom of their group with one point and one goal – a Gareth Bale penalty.
Bale announced his retirement from football six weeks after the World Cup exit, and Page had to begin plotting Euro 2024 qualification without Wales’ long-time talisman.
It was a mixed campaign that saw Wales take four points from 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Croatia but was ultimately undone by picking up just one against Armenia, who were barely ranked inside the world’s top hundred.
Wales were consigned to the play-offs and, having registered a semi-final win over Finland, missed out on the Euros as Poland prevailed in a penalty shoot-out contest in Cardiff and attention now turns to the Nations League campaign that starts in September.
Football Association of Wales president Steve Williams took less than 24 hours to give Page his full backing after an agonising defeat that hit Welsh football’s finances hard.
But that support evaporated after two June friendlies, a goalless draw against Gibraltar – opponents ranked 203rd in the world – and a 4-0 hammering to Euros-bound Slovakia.
Even without a host of senior players, the FAW hierarchy could not escape the fact Wales had won only five times in 22 games since qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
Nor could they ignore the loud calls of fans – both inside the stadiums after the Gibraltar and Slovakia games and on social media – to replace someone whose only previous managerial experience came at Port Vale and Northampton.
Williams said: “I am incredibly grateful for all that Rob has done in his role as Cymru men’s national team manager and I want to put on record my gratitude for taking Cymru to EURO 2020 and the FIFA World Cup.”
On July 9, 2024, former Liverpool and Manchester City forward Craig Bellamy was named as Page's replacement.
Bellamy represented Wales 78 times as a player and the role was his first senior appointment, having previously been Under-21 coach at Anderlecht and assistant manager at Burnley.
Wales legends
Bale was the biggest star in the modern Welsh game by some distance, but it is only his national team exploits that elevate him above Giggs as Wales' best.
Giggs is among the most decorated players to have played the game, but was hindered by a lack of quality around him. Bale, in contrast, can call upon the likes of Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen as team-mates.
Speed will be remembered for the tragic end to his life, but should be considered one of the best players to pull on the red of Wales.
For a time Liverpool and Manchester United came together in the Wales strikeforce with Ian Rush and Mark Hughes striking up a partnership that got them close to major championships.
For his longevity and performances in a Wales shirt, record appearance holder Chris Gunter is almost universally loved among the Welsh fanbase.
Wales' biggest rivals
Being a member of the home nations, Wales have natural rivalries with England, Scotland and both the Irish teams.
Wales earned their maiden international victory over England at Alexandra Meadows in Blackburn in 1881 but wouldn't beat Scotland until 1905.
Wales have also recently struck up a rivalry with Belgium due to a number of high-profile meetings between the two countries.
Wales beat Belgium in Euro 2016, the two nations were drawn together for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign and in the 2022/24 Nations League.
The Welsh fanbase
Hailing from a small nation, Wales supporters make up for their lack of numbers with fierce loyalty and good spirits.
The nation has had little to celebrate in its soccer history, but that has made every big moment that much more special for those there to witness it.
Like their British rivals, the Welsh fans are incredibly inventive when it comes to chants to celebrate their players or simply being in the stadium at all.
