 | ||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Dragons (Welsh: Y Dreigiau) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Football Association of Wales (FAW) | |||||||||||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | |||||||||||
| Head coach | Craig Bellamy | |||||||||||
| Captain | Aaron Ramsey | |||||||||||
| Most caps | Gareth Bale (111) | |||||||||||
| Top scorer | Gareth Bale (41) | |||||||||||
| Home stadium | Cardiff City Stadium | |||||||||||
| FIFA code | WAL | |||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| FIFA ranking | ||||||||||||
| Current | 29  (24 October 2024)[1] | |||||||||||
| Highest | 8 (October 2015) | |||||||||||
| Lowest | 117 (August 2011) | |||||||||||
| First international | ||||||||||||
 Scotland 4–0 Wales  (Glasgow, Scotland; 25 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 | 2 (first in 1958) | |||||||||||
| Best result | Quarter-finals (1958) | |||||||||||
| European Championship | ||||||||||||
| Appearances | 2 (first in 2016) | |||||||||||
| Best result | Semi-finals (2016) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||
| Website | www | |||||||||||
The Wales national football team (Welsh: Tîm pêl-droed cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in men's international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales. They have been a member of FIFA since 1946 and a member of UEFA since 1954.
Wales have qualified for the FIFA World Cup twice, in 1958 and 2022. In 1958, they reached the quarter-finals before losing to eventual champions Brazil. 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 the FIFA World Ranking between August 2011 and October 2015[3][4][5][6] – they qualified for UEFA Euro 2016, where they reached the semi-finals before again losing to the eventual champions, Portugal. A second successive UEFA European Championship followed when Wales reached the round of 16 of UEFA Euro 2020. They also progressed through UEFA 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.
Historically, the Welsh team has featured a number of players from Wales' top club teams, Cardiff City and Swansea City. These two Welsh clubs play in the English league system alongside fellow Welsh clubs Newport County, Wrexham and Merthyr Town. However, most Welsh football clubs play in the Welsh football league system. As a country of the United Kingdom, Wales is not a member of the International Olympic Committee (as Welsh athletes compete for Great Britain) and therefore the national team does not compete in the Olympic Games.
- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ Wathan, Chris (9 July 2015). "How Wales went from 117 to the top 10 in the Fifa World rankings". Wales Online. Media Wales. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ^ "Wales one behind Brazil in Fifa rankings; Northern Ireland 35th". BBC Sport. 1 October 2015. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ^ "Wales seal qualification to Euro 2016 despite loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina". Eurosport. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ Staff, S. I. (10 October 2015). "Wales secures historic Euro 2016 qualification". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 5 February 2024.