The Wales national football team's only World Cup appearance was in 1958, but they left an impression by drawing all the matches in their group against Hungary, Mexico, and Sweden before defeating the Hungarians in a tiebreaker match to reach the Quarterfinals. There the Welsh lost 1–0 to eventual champions Brazil.
| Shirt badge/Association crest | |||
| Nickname(s) | The Dragons | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Football Association of Wales | ||
| Head coach |  John Toshack, (2004-) | ||
| Captain | Ryan Giggs | ||
| Most caps | Neville Southall (93) | ||
| Top scorer | Ian Rush (28) | ||
| FIFA code | WAL | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 56 | ||
| Highest | 27 (August 1993) | ||
| Lowest | 113 (September 2000) | ||
| First international | |||
 Scotland 4 - 0 Wales (Glasgow, Scotland; 26 March, 1876) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Wales 11 - 0 Ireland  (Wrexham, Wales; 3 March, 1888) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| Scotland 9 - 0 Wales (Glasgow, Scotland; 23 March, 1878) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 (first in 1958) | ||
| Best result | Quarter-finals, 1958 | ||
| European Championship | |||
| Appearances | 1 (first in - 1974) | ||
| Best result | - Quarter-finals | ||
They have only once qualified for the European Championship, last losing in the playoffs for a place in Euro 2004 against Russia. Russia had a player (Egor Titov) test positive for banned drug use after the first qualifying leg, however the sport's governing body decided to take no action against the team other than asking them not to play Titov again.
Former player Mark Hughes served as manager through the 2004 season, but he left to concentrate on his new job as manager of Blackburn Rovers of the English Premiership. John Toshack was appointed manager for the second time on 12 November 2004, ten years after he had resigned from the position after one game in charge.
During the Euro 2004 qualifying tournament Wales became the best supported national team in Europe, with an average attendance in excess of 70,000. The FAW's policy of cheaper tickets helped to contribute, but nonetheless it was a remarkable honour for a small nation, with little international success, and where football is arguably not even the national sport, as rugby union is perhaps more ingrained in the Welsh national sporting consciousness.
Stadium
Wales play their home matches at the Millennium Stadium. Prior to its construction they generally played at the grounds of Cardiff City F.C., Swansea City F.C. and Wrexham F.C. In recent seasons several matches have been played away from the Millennium stadium, in Swansea and Wrexham but thus far these have all been friendly matches due to lack of capacity.
Competition History
World Cup record
- 1930 to 1938 - Did not enter
- 1950 - Did not qualify
- 1954 - Did not qualify
- 1958 - Quarter-finals
- 1962 to 2006 - Did not qualify
European Championship record
- 1960 - Did not enter
- 1964 to 1972 - Did not qualify
- 1976 - Quarter-finals
- 1980 to 2004 - Did not qualify
FIFA World Ranking
| Date | Ranking |
|---|---|
| January 1999 | 74th |
| January 2000 | 98th |
| January 2001 | 109th |
| January 2002 | 100th |
| January 2003 | 53rd |
| January 2004 | 65th |
| January 2005 | 68th |
| January 2006 | 72nd |
| July 2006 | 58th |
Famous players
- Ivor Allchurch 1929-1997
- William Ellis Bailiff
- Craig Bellamy
- John Charles 1931-2004
- Mel Charles
- Chris Coleman
- Dai Davies
- Simon Davies
- Robert Earnshaw
- Ian Evans
- Brian Flynn
- Danny Gabbidon
- Ryan Giggs
- John Hartson
- Mark Hughes
- Joey Jones
- Vinnie Jones
- Llewelyn Kenrick
- Robert William Matthews
- Billy Meredith
- Peter Nicholas
- Roy Paul
- Kevin Ratcliffe
- John Robinson
- Leigh Richmond Roose
- Vic Rouse
- Ian Rush
- Dean Saunders
- Robbie Savage
- Cyril Sidlow 1915-2005
- Neville Southall
- Gary Speed
- Mickey Thomas
- John Toshack
- Pat van den Hauwe
- Terry Yorath
Current Squad
- Goalkeepers
| Name | Age | Club | Caps (goals) | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Brown | 24 |  Blackburn Rovers |
1 (0) | v Trinidad and Tobago, 27 May 2006 |
| Danny Coyne | 32 | Burnley |
11 (0) | v Unknown |
| Glyn Garner | 29 | Leyton Orient |
1 (0) | v Trinidad and Tobago, 27 May 2006 |
| Paul Jones | 39 | Queens Park Rangers |
47 (0) | v Scotland, 1997 |
| Martyn Margetson | 34 | Cardiff City |
1 (0) | v Canada, 2004 |
| Lewis Price | 22 | Ipswich |
2 (0) | v Cyprus, 16 November 2005 |
| Darren Ward | 32 | Norwich City F.C. |
5 (0) | v Unknown |
- Defenders
| Name | Age | Club | Caps (goals) | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gareth Bale | 17 | Southampton |
1 (0) | v Trinidad and Tobago, 27 May 2006 |
| Danny Collins | 25 | Sunderland |
2 (0) | v Cyprus, 16 November 2005 |
| James Collins | 22 | West Ham |
12 (0) | v Unknown |
| Mark Delaney | 30 | Aston Villa |
34 (0) | v Unknown |
| Richard Duffy | 20 | Portsmouth |
5 (0) | v Slovenia, 17 August 2005 |
| Rob Edwards | 23 | Wolves |
10 (0) | v Azerbaijan, 29 March 2003 |
| Danny Gabbidon | 27 | West Ham |
27 (0) | v Czech Republic, 2002 |
| Lewin Nyatanga | 17 | Derby |
2 (0) | v Paraguay, 1 March 2006 |
| Robert Page | 31 | Coventry |
41 (1) | v Turkey, 1996 |
| Sam Ricketts | 24 | Hull City |
11 (0) | v Hungary, 9 February 2005 |
| Rhys Weston | 27 | Cardiff |
7 (0) | v Portugal, 6 February 2000 |
- Midfielders
| Name | Age | Club | Caps (goals) | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Crofts | 22 | Gillingham |
3 (0) | v Azerbaijan, 12 October 2005 |
| Simon Davies | 26 | Everton |
29 (5) | v Ukraine, 6 June 2001 |
| Carl Fletcher | 26 | Crystal Palace |
12 (0) | v Scotland, 18 February 2004 |
| Ryan Giggs (captain) | 32 | Manchester United |
57 (11) | v West Germany, June 1991 |
| Jason Koumas | 26 | West Bromwich Albion F.C. |
15 (1) | v Ukraine, 6 June 2001 |
| Joe Ledley | 19 | Cardiff |
3 (0) | v Poland, October 2005 |
| John Oster | 27 | Reading |
13 (0) | v Unknown |
| Paul Parry | 25 | Cardiff |
6 (1) | v Scotland, 18 February 2004 |
| Carl Robinson | 29 | Norwich |
30 (1) | v Belarus, 1999 |
| Owain Tudor Jones | 21 | Swansea |
0 (0) | v n/a |
| David Vaughan | 23 | Crewe Alexandra |
3 (0) | v USA, 26 May 2003 |
| Gavin Williams | 25 | Ipswich |
1 (0) | v Cyprus, 16 November 2005 |
- Strikers
| Name | Age | Club | Caps (goals) | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Bellamy | 26 | Liverpool |
36 (9) | v Jamaica, 23 March 1998 |
| David Cotterill | 19 | Bristol City |
3 (0) | v Azerbaijan, 12 October 2005 |
| Craig Davies | 20 |  Veronaon loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers, |
3 (0) | v Slovenia, 17 August 2005 |
| Robert Earnshaw | 25 | Norwich |
27 (11) | v Germany, 14 May 2002 |
| John Hartson | 31 | West Brom |
50 (14) | v Bulgaria, 29 March 1995 |
Managers
- Jimmy Murphy (1958)
- Dave Bowen (1964-1974)
- Mike Smith (1974-1979)
- Mike England (1979-1987)
- Terry Yorath (1988-1993)
- John Toshack (1994)
- Mike Smith (1994-1995)
- Bobby Gould (1995-1999)
- Mark Hughes (1999-2004)
- John Toshack (2004-)
External links
- Football Association of Wales
- International results of Wales
- Dragon Soccer
- Results of Wales world cup matches
Welsh Football Online - Unofficial Welsh Football Website]