Welsh National Football Team / World Championships

Wales
Cymru

World Cup record goalscorer:	Ivor Allchurch (2)
World Cup record players:	Seven players with five games each
Rank :	54
Balance sheet
5 World Cup games 1 win 3 draws 1 loss 4: 4 goals
statistics
First World Cup game Wales 1-1 Hungary Sandviken ( SWE ); June 8, 1958
Biggest World Cup victory Wales 2-1 Hungary Solna ( SWE ); June 17, 1958
Biggest World Cup defeat Wales 0: 1 Brazil Gothenburg ( USA ); June 19, 1958
successes
World Championship
Participation in the finals	1 ( first : 1958 )
Best results	Quarterfinals 1958
Best placements in the countries that host the FIFA World Cup
(Status: after the 2018 World Cup )

The article provides a detailed account of the Welsh national football team at World Cups . Wales first took part in the finals, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals against eventual world champions Brazil. In the all-time ranking, Wales is the third best team with only one participation in 53rd place.

Overview

year	Host country	Participation until ...	Last opponent	Results	Trainer	Comments and special features
1930	Uruguay	not participated
1934	Italy	not participated
1938	France	not participated
1950	Brazil	not qualified				In the qualification of England and Scotland failed. The qualification was also counted as the British Home Championship .
1954	Switzerland	not qualified				In the qualification of England and Scotland failed. The qualification was also counted as the British Home Championship .
1958	Sweden	Quarter finals	Brazil	6th	Jimmy Murphy	Wales initially failed in qualifying against Czechoslovakia , then Israel was drawn and, after two wins , was able to qualify for the only time so far for the World Cup, where all four British associations participated for the only time so far, of which Northern Ireland only made the quarter-finals reached. Both made it to the quarter-finals only through playoffs for 2nd place.
1962	Chile	not qualified				In the qualification of Spain failed.
1966	England	not qualified				In the qualification of the Soviet Union failed
1970	Mexico	not qualified				In the qualification of European champions Italy failed.
1974	Germany	not qualified				Failed in the qualification together with England against Poland
1978	Argentina	not qualified				In the qualification of Scotland failed
1982	Spain	not qualified				In the qualification of the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia failed
1986	Mexico	not qualified				In the qualification of Spain and Scotland failed
1990	Italy	not qualified				Failed in the qualification to the Netherlands and the eventual world champion Germany
1994	United States	not qualified				In the qualification of Romania and Belgium failed
1998	France	not qualified				In the qualification to the Netherlands and Belgium failed
2002	South Korea / Japan	not qualified				In the qualification to Poland and Ukraine failed in the play-offs of Germany failed
2006	Germany	not qualified				In the qualification of England and Poland failed
2010	South Africa	not qualified				In the qualification to Germany and Russia failed, which also failed in the play-offs.
2014	Brazil	not qualified				In qualifying , Wales met Belgium , Croatia , Macedonia , Scotland and Serbia . After two wins and five defeats, Wales had no chance to qualify on September 6, 2013 with three games still to go.
2018	Russia	not qualified				In the qualification of Serbia and Ireland failed

Statistics (data including 2018: 21 World Championships; percentages are rounded)

• No participation: three times (14%; 1930, 1934 and 1938)
• Athletic qualification: once (5% or 6% of the attempts)
  • Quarter-finals: once (5%; 1958)

1930 in Uruguay to 1938 in France

In the period before the Second World War, the British football associations had not yet consented to professional players taking part in football World Cups. The Welsh national team therefore did not participate in the 1930 World Cup or in the qualifying competitions for the World Cup finals in 1934 and 1938 .

1950 in Brazil

The British associations wanted to qualify for the first World Cup after the Second World War . They were granted two starting places, which were played at the British Home Championships . England qualified as group winners for the finals in Brazil . The Scots, who actually qualified second, had previously announced that they only wanted to participate as group winners. The Scottish Association stuck to this when they were offered a starting place after other teams had withdrawn. Wales and Ireland finished third together and were eliminated.

1954 in Switzerland

Again, the British Home Championship 1953/54 were also the qualification for the World Cup finals and this time Wales was only fourth and could not qualify again.

1958 in Sweden

For the first time Wales competed in the qualification against other European teams and had to play against Czechoslovakia and the GDR . Wales won both home games but lost the away games. Since the Czechoslovaks won in the GDR, Wales only took second place. After all teams except Israel had gradually withdrawn in the Africa / Asia qualification, FIFA decided that Israel should play against a group runner-up in the Europe and South America qualifying groups. Wales had the luck of the draw and got a second chance against Israel. The Welsh people took advantage of this and qualified for the World Cup with two victories. Since the three other British teams had also qualified, it was the first and to date only World Cup for which all four British teams were qualified. At the World Cup they were drawn into different groups.

In Sweden, the Welsh met runners-up Hungary in their first World Cup game and won 1-1, with Italy professional John Charles scoring Wales' first World Cup goal. The second game against Mexico also ended 1-1 and after the Welsh had fought 0-0 against hosts Sweden in the last group game , Hungary and Wales were tied on points. Since the Hungarians' better goal difference did not count, there was a play-off. Wales won this 2-1 and moved into the quarter-finals. There they met the eventual world champions Brazil , who had two more days off, and lost 1-0 with Pelé's first World Cup goal . With that, Wales said goodbye to the World Cup for at least 60 years.

1962 in Chile

Wales could not qualify for the third World Cup in South America . Wales had to play against Spain first and then against the winners of the Africa group. But Wales lost the home game against Spain 2-1 and only reached a 1-1 draw in Spain, which meant that the qualification ended prematurely. Spain then prevailed against Morocco and drove to the World Cup, where the team failed in the preliminary round.

1966 in England

The 1966 World Cup took place in neighboring England, a particular incentive for the Welsh to qualify. In a group of four, the Welsh met the USSR , Greece and Denmark . The strong at home Welsh won all three home games, but lost all away games and only finished second with 6: 6 points behind vice European champions USSR, who had won all games except in Wales.

1970 in Mexico

Wales could also not qualify for the first World Cup in Central America . European champions Italy and the GDR won all games against Wales, Italy also against the GDR, so that Wales only came last behind Italy and the GDR.

1974 in Germany

For the first time since 1954 Wales met England again in qualifying , as well as Olympic champion Poland . Wales lost the first game against England 1-0, but then fought 1-1 in England, which meant the English were missing one point for qualifying. Because England lost in Poland and did not get more than 1: 1 in the home game, so that the Poles could cope with the 0: 2 defeat in Wales. However, the Welsh could not qualify as third party.

1978 in Argentina

Wales could not qualify for the fourth World Cup in South America either . This time the other British team Scotland and Czechoslovakia were too strong. Wales could only win the home game against Czechoslovakia, but lost the other three games and were eliminated from the bottom of the group.

1982 in Spain

Wales again failed to qualify for the World Cup on the Iberian Peninsula . In a group with the Soviet Union , Czechoslovakia, Iceland and Turkey , they were tied with Czechoslovakia - but with the worse goal difference - behind the Soviet Union only in third place. The qualification was gambled away on the penultimate matchday with a 2-2 home game against Iceland. As a result, Czechoslovakia reached a 1-1 draw against the Soviet Union in their last home game, as the Welsh had lost their last game 3-0 in the Soviet Union 11 days earlier.

1986 in Mexico

Wales did not qualify for the second World Cup in Mexico either. Behind Spain, the Welsh were level on points with the Scots, but with the worse goal difference, they were only third, ahead of Iceland. The qualification was gambled away with a 1-1 draw against Scotland on the last day of the match. The Welsh led 1-0 up to the 81st minute of the game. Then the Scots were awarded a penalty. Davie Cooper , who was substituted on in the 61st minute, scored to equalize 1-1. In the general excitement, the Scottish coach Jock Stein suffered his second heart attack , attempts at resuscitation in the stadium hospital room failed and he died on the spot. His assistant Alex Ferguson then took over the head coach of the Scots and led them through games against Australia in the intercontinental playoffs for the World Cup. Wales, on the other hand, would have qualified directly for the World Cup with a win, as they would then have had the better goal difference than Spain.

1990 in Italy

For the second World Cup in Italy , the Welsh could also not qualify . In a group with European champions Netherlands , the later world champions Federal Republic of Germany and Finland , they only came last. But they tipped the scales between Germany, England and Denmark: In the last game against Wales, the German team still needed a win to qualify as one of the two best runners-up in the groups of four. The Welsh, who had only reached two draws by then, took the lead in Cologne through Malcolm Allen in the 11th minute . Rudi Völler was able to equalize in the 25th minute, but it was not until the 48th minute before “local hero” Thomas Häßler scored the 2-1 winner for the vice world champion. Wales finished last in the group and Germany could go to the World Cup; because Denmark lost 3-1 in Romania on the same day, as did the English.

1994 in the United States

In qualifying for the World Cup in the USA, the Welsh met Czechoslovakia again, which took part for the last time, but under the designation Selection of Czechs and Slovaks (Representation of Czechs and Slovaks, RCS). Other opponents were Belgium , Romania , which ended up with the same number of points with the better goal difference in front of the Belgians, as well as the Faroe Islands , who took part in the qualification for the first time, and Cyprus . The Welsh took only fourth place and gambled away the qualification with a 1: 2 home defeat on the last match day against Romania.

1998 in France

For the second World Cup in France , the Welsh had in qualifying again against Belgium and the Netherlands, which Turkey and San Marino to take, but again occupied only the fourth place. Wales could only win the games against San Marino and also achieve a goalless draw in their home game against Turkey. All other games were lost.

2002 in Japan and South Korea

The qualification for the first World Cup in Asia was even worse . In a group of six with Poland , Ukraine , Belarus , Norway and Armenia only the fifth place was taken. Wales lost only three games, but only won the home game against Belarus and did not get past a draw six times.

2006 in Germany

The qualification for the second World Cup in Germany didn't go any better either. In a group of six with England , Poland, Austria , Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan again only the fifth place was taken. Two wins (against Azerbaijan and Northern Ireland) were matched by six defeats and two draws.

2010 in South Africa

The Welsh were also unable to qualify for the first World Cup in Africa . This time they landed in fourth place behind European champions Germany , Russia and Finland . Only Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein, against whom the only victories come, were in the end still behind Wales. All games were lost against the other three teams - albeit very close in some cases.

2014 in Brazil

The qualification for the second World Cup in Brazil was even worse . In a group with Belgium, Croatia , Serbia , Scotland and Macedonia , despite two victories against Scotland, only the fifth place was occupied before Macedonia, against which the only further victory was achieved. Already after the fourth last match day, Wales had no chance to qualify.

2018 in Russia

When the qualifying groups were drawn, the Welsh people, who surprisingly reached the semi-finals at the 2016 European Championship , were assigned to Pot 1 and were drawn as the group head of Group D. Opponents were Georgia, Ireland, Moldova, Austria and Serbia. Although the Welsh did not lose any of the first five games, they could only win one (4-0 against Moldova). Halfway through the games, the Welsh were only in third place. In the second half they won three games, drew once and lost the last game against Ireland. As a result, they were pushed from second to third place and again missed the World Cup finals.

Ranking of the Welsh World Cup players with the most appearances

01. Ivor Allchurch †, Dave Bowen †, Mel Charles , Mel Hopkins †, Cliff Jones , Jack Kelsey † and Stuart Williams † - 5 appearances in 1 tournament

08. John Charles †, Terry Medwin and Derrick Sullivan † - 4 appearances in 1 tournament

Ranking of the Welsh World Cup players with the highest number of World Cup goals

01. Ivor Allchurch † - 2 goals

02. John Charles † and Terry Medwin - 1 goal each

Players banned from World Championships

In the only participation so far, no Welsh player was sent off or cautioned.

Share of players playing abroad in the World Cup squad

In the only participation so far, legionaries who played in England and an Italian professional made up the majority in the squad.

Year (games)	Number (countries)	Players (stakes)
1958 (5)	13 (12 in England, 1 in Italy)	Tom Baker (0), Dave Bowen (5), Vic Crowe (0), Trevor Edwards (1), John Elsworthy (0), Mel Hopkins (5), Jack Kelsey (5), Ken Leek (0), Terry Medwin (4), Roy Vernon (1), Colin Webster (3), Stuart Williams (5); John Charles (4)

Games

The Welsh has played 5 World Cup games so far. One was won, one lost and three ended in a draw.

The Welsh never played in the opening game and never played against the defending champions. They had to play once against the hosts and once against the eventual world champion, but never played against newcomers to the World Cup. The most frequent opponent is Hungary, who has been played twice, as there was a decider for second place in their only participation so far. Neither the only victory nor the only defeat are the greatest against the respective opponents.

All World Cup games
No.	date	opponent	Result	occasion		venue	comment
1.	06/08/1958	Hungary	1: 1	Preliminary round	*	Sandviken ( SWE )	First international match against Hungary
2.	06/11/1958	Mexico	1: 1	Preliminary round	*	Solna ( SWE )	First international match against Mexico
3.	06/15/1958	Sweden	0-0	Preliminary round	A.	Solna ( SWE )	First international match against Sweden
4th	06/17/1958	Hungary	2: 1	Preliminary round	*	Solna ( SWE )	Decision game for second place in the group
5.	06/19/1958	Brazil	0: 1	Quarter finals	*	Gothenburg ( SWE )	First international match against Brazil

See also

Welsh National Football Team / European Championships

Web links

• Football World - Statistics - Wales on fifa.com
• fifa.com: "Statistical overview: records and milestones"

References and footnotes

1. ↑ The placements from 5th place onwards were determined by FIFA without any placement games. See: All-time FIFA World Cup Ranking 1930-2010 (PDF file; 195 kB)
2. ↑ 1982 FIFA World Cup Spain - Preliminary round matches
3. ↑ eu-football.info: "Wales - Scotland 1: 1"
4. ↑ dfb.de: Germany - Wales 2: 1 (1: 1)