List_of_Wales_international_footballers_(alphabetical)

List of Wales international footballers

List of Wales international footballers

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The Wales national football team has represented Wales in international association football since 1876, making it the third oldest international football team. They played their first official match on 25 March 1876,[1] four years after England and Scotland played the first ever international football match. They are governed by the Football Association of Wales and compete as a member of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which predominantly encompasses the countries of Europe. As of October 2023, Wales have played 706 international matches since their debut, winning 225, drawing 156 and losing 325.[2] They have played over 100 fixtures against England and Scotland,[3] regularly competing against both in the British Home Championship between 1884 and 1984, winning the competition on twelve occasions. In global and continental competitions, Wales have qualified for two FIFA World Cups in 1958 and 2022, reaching the quarter-finals in the former, and two UEFA European Championships in 2016 and 2020 in their history, reaching the semi-finals in the former.[4]

The Wales national football team pose for a team photo prior to a match in 2016.

Wales were the last side from the Home Nations without a player reaching 100 caps.[5] Gareth Bale is Wales most capped player with 111 caps. Chris Gunter became the first player to earn 100 Wales caps, reaching the tally on 27 March 2021 in a friendly against Mexico.[6] Players who reach 50 appearances for Wales are awarded a golden cap.[5] Bale also holds the record for the most goals scored for Wales having scored 41 goals, overtaking Ian Rush's record in March 2018.[7]

Billy Meredith was the first Welsh player to reach 25 caps and went on to accumulate 48 caps in his career and score eleven goals,[8] both Welsh records at the time.[9] His appearance record stood for 42 years until it was beaten by Ivor Allchurch in 1962,[10] who finished his career with 68 caps.[11] Defender Joey Jones set a new record in the 1980s, amassing 72 caps,[12] before his record was overtaken by Peter Nicholas in 1991 by a single cap. On 23 May 1994, Neville Southall played in a 2–1 victory over Estonia to earn his 74th cap and overtake Nicholas,[13] eventually gaining 92 caps before retiring.[14] Gunter surpassed Southall's cap record on 20 November 2018 against Albania,[15] before he himself was overtaken when Bale made his 110th Wales appearance in their 2022 FIFA World Cup Group B match against Iran on 25 November 2022.[16]

List of players

As of 28 March 2024
More information Key ...

Caps and goals sourced from:[14][17][18][19]

A footballer wearing a dark T-shirt and dark shorts.
Gareth Bale is Wales' top goalscorer of all-time with 41 goals and record cap holder.
A footballer with dark hair wearing a black tracksuit
Chris Gunter was the first player to attain 100 caps for Wales.
A man wearing a dark suit and white shirt standing at the edge of a football pitch
Gary Speed gained 85 caps for Wales and managed the side between 2010 and 2011.
A man wearing a grey jumper
John Toshack gained 40 caps for Wales and managed the side for a single match in 1994 and between 2004 and 2010.
More information #, Name ...

Notes

  1. Players who are still active for the national team are players who have not retired from international football and are, subsequently, eligible to be called up.
  2. Flynn was appointed caretaker manager for two matches in 2010.[20]
  3. Burgess was appointed caretaker manager for a single match in 1965.[20]

References

  1. [1]
    "Scotland v Wales, 25 March 1876". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  2. [2]
    "Wales national football team: record v other sides". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  3. [3]
    "Wales national football team statistics and records: all-time record". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  4. [4]
    "Wales national football team". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  5. [5]
    Phillips, Rob (26 March 2015). "Euro 2016: Who are Gareth Bale's rivals to be Wales' first centurion?". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  6. [6]
    Phillips, Rob (26 March 2021). "'Leader, machine, an absolute joy' - Chris Gunter's journey to 100 Wales caps". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  7. [7]
    Abbandonato, Paul (22 March 2018). "Gareth Bale smashes Ian Rush's Wales goal scoring record with hat-trick in Ryan Giggs' debut game as boss". WalesOnline. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  8. [8]
    "Billy Meredith". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  9. [9]
    Carradice, Phil (13 December 2012). "Billy Meredith: football superstar". BBC Wales. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  10. [10]
    Farmer, David; Stead, Peter (1998). Ivor Allchurch M.B.E. Swansea: Christopher Davies (Publishing) Ltd. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-7154-0733-2.
  11. [11]
    "Ivor Allchurch". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  12. [12]
    "Joey Jones retires from full-time role at Wrexham AFC". Daily Post. 6 July 2017. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  13. [13]
    "Southall sets record in Welsh victory: Goals from Rush and Phillips secure win for Smith's team in Baltic friendly". The Independent. 23 May 1994. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  14. [14]
    Passo Alpuin, Luis Fernando. "Wales – Record International Players". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 17 March 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  15. [15]
    Pritchard, Dafydd (20 November 2018). "Albania 1–0 Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  16. [16]
    Pritchard, Dafydd (25 November 2022). "World Cup 2022: Wales 0-2 Iran - Magic moments run out for Bale and Ramsey". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  17. [17]
    "Wales national football team statistics and records: appearances". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  18. [18]
    "Wales Mens Squads". Football Association of Wales. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  19. [19]
    "Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Transfer Database". Neil Brown. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  20. [20]
    "Wales' football managers". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  21. [21]
    "Ryan Giggs: Manchester United legend named Wales manager". BBC Sport. 15 January 2018. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
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