List of Wales international footballers

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 encompasses the countries of Europe and Israel.[2] As of November 2020, Wales have played 669 international matches since their debut, winning 213, drawing 145 and losing 311.[3] They have played over 100 fixtures against England and Scotland,[4] 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 been less successful having qualified for one FIFA World Cup in 1958, reaching the quarter-finals, and two UEFA European Championships in 2016 and 2020 in their history, reaching the semi-finals in the former.[5]

The Wales national football team line-up prior to a match in 2016

Despite their long history, Wales are the only side from the Home Nations without a player that has won 100 caps.[6] Defender Chris Gunter is Wales' most capped player of all-time. Having made his debut in 2007, he has accumulated 99 caps as of November 2020. Players who reach 50 appearances for Wales are awarded a golden cap.[6] Gareth Bale holds the record for the most goals scored for Wales having scored 33 goals as of November 2020, 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 equalled Southall's record on 16 November 2018 during a match against Denmark,[15] surpassing the record four days later against Albania.[16] As of November 2020, 95 players have gained 25 caps or more for Wales.

List of players

Appearances and goals are composed of FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Football Championship and each competition's required qualification matches, as well as numerous international friendly tournaments and matches. Players are listed by number of caps. If number of caps are equal, the players are then listed alphabetically. Statistics correct as of 18 November 2020.

	Key
*	Still active for the national team[lower-alpha 1]
GK	Goalkeeper
DF	Defender
MF	Midfielder
FW	Forward

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

Chris Gunter is Wales' most capped player with 99 caps.

Neville Southall is Wales' second most capped goalkeeper with 92 caps and previously held the overall record.

Gareth Bale is Wales' top goalscorer of all-time with 33 goals.

Gary Speed gained 85 caps for Wales and managed the side between 2010 and 2011.

John Toshack gained 40 caps for Wales and managed the side for a single match in 1994 and between 2004 and 2010.

Wales national team footballers with at least 25 appearances
#	Name	Position	National team career	Caps	Goals	Other roles
1	Chris Gunter*	DF	2007–2020	99	0
2	Wayne Hennessey*	GK	2007–2020	94	0
3	Neville Southall	GK	1982–1997	92	0
4	Gareth Bale*	FW	2006–2020	87	33
5	Ashley Williams	DF	2008–2019	86	2
6	Gary Speed	MF	1990–2004	85	7	Manager[20]
7	Craig Bellamy	FW	1998–2013	78	19
8	Joe Ledley*	MF	2006–2018	77	4
9	Dean Saunders	FW	1986–2001	75	22
10=	Peter Nicholas	MF	1979–1991	73	2
10=	Ian Rush	FW	1980–1996	73	28
12=	Mark Hughes	FW	1984–1999	72	16	Manager[20]
12=	Joey Jones	DF	1975–1986	72	1
14	Ivor Allchurch	FW	1950–1966	68	23
15	Brian Flynn	MF	1974–1984	66	7	Manager[lower-alpha 2]
16	Andy Melville	DF	1989–2004	65	3
17=	Ryan Giggs	MF	1991–2007	64	12	Manager[21]
17=	Sam Vokes*	FW	2008–2019	64	11
19	David Phillips	MF	1984–1996	62	2
20	Aaron Ramsey*	MF	2008–2019	61	16
21=	Barry Horne	MF	1987–1997	59	2
	Cliff Jones	MF	1954–1969	59	16
	Kevin Ratcliffe	DF	1980–1993	59	0
	Terry Yorath	MF	1969–1981	59	2	Manager[20]
25=	Ben Davies*	DF	2012–2020	58	0
	Simon Davies	MF	2001–2010	58	6
	Robert Earnshaw	FW	2002–2012	58	16
	Leighton Phillips	DF	1971–1981	58	0
29	Joe Allen*	MF	2009–2019	56	2
30=	Leighton James	MF	1971–1988	54	10
30=	Mark Pembridge	MF	1991–2003	54	6
32=	Dai Davies	GK	1975–1982	52	0
	Sam Ricketts	DF	2005–2014	52	0
	Carl Robinson	MF	1999–2009	52	1
35=	James Collins	DF	2004–2016	51	3
	John Hartson	FW	1995–2005	51	14
	John Mahoney	MF	1967–1983	51	1
	Mickey Thomas	MF	1977–1986	51	4
39=	Paul Jones	GK	1997–2006	50	0
	Andy King*	MF	2009–2018	50	2
	Rod Thomas	MF	1967–1977	50	0
42	Danny Gabbidon	DF	2002–2014	49	0
43	Billy Meredith	FW	1895–1920	48	11
44	Robbie James	MF	1979–1988	47	7
45	Hal Robson-Kanu*	FW	2010–2020	45	5
46	Mike England	DF	1962–1975	44	4	Manager[20]
47=	David Edwards	MF	2007–2017	43	3
	Neil Taylor*	DF	2010–2019	43	1
	Stuart Williams	DF	1954–1965	43	0
50	David Vaughan	MF	2003–2016	42	1
51=	Mark Bowen	DF	1986–1997	41	3
	Jack Kelsey	GK	1954–1962	41	0
	Rob Page	DF	1999–2005	41	0
	Alf Sherwood	DF	1947–1957	41	0
55=	Peter Rodrigues	DF	1965–1974	40	0
55=	John Toshack	FW	1969–1980	40	13	Manager[20]
57=	Mark Aizlewood	DF	1986–1995	39	0
	Clayton Blackmore	MF	1985–1997	39	1
	Terry Hennessey	DF	1962–1973	39	0
	Ronnie Rees	MF	1965–1972	39	3
	Robbie Savage	MF	1995–2004	39	2
62=	John Charles	FW	1950–1965	38	15
	Simon Church	FW	2009–2016	38	3
	Trevor Ford	FW	1947–1957	38	23
65=	Gary Sprake	GK	1964–1975	37	0
65=	Kit Symons	DF	1992–2004	37	2
67=	Mark Delaney	DF	1999–2006	36	0
67=	Carl Fletcher	MF	2004–2009	36	1
69=	James Chester*	DF	2014–2018	35	0
69=	Alan Curtis	MF	1976–1987	35	6
71=	Wyn Davies	FW	1964–1974	34	6
	Mel Hopkins	DF	1956–1963	34	0
	Jason Koumas	MF	2001–2009	34	10
	Lewin Nyatanga	DF	2006–2011	34	0
75	Roy Paul	DF	1949–1956	33	1
76=	Ron Burgess	MF	1947–1954	32	1	Manager[lower-alpha 3]
	Chris Coleman	DF	1992–2002	32	4	Manager[20]
	Fred Keenor	DF	1920–1932	32	2
	Roy Vernon	FW	1957–1968	32	8
80=	Mel Charles	DF	1955–1963	31	6
80=	Kenny Jackett	MF	1983–1988	31	0
82=	Barrie Hole	MF	1963–1971	30	0
	Terry Medwin	FW	1953–1963	30	6
	John Robinson	MF	1995–2002	30	3
85=	Nathan Blake	FW	1994–2003	29	4
	Andrew Crofts	MF	2005–2017	29	0
	Ron Davies	FW	1964–1974	29	8
	Gil Reece	MF	1965–1975	29	2
89	Malcolm Page	DF	1971–1979	28	0
90=	Alan Durban	FW	1966–1972	27	2
	Billy Lewis	FW	1885–1898	27	8
	Charlie Morris	DF	1900–1911	27	0
93	Graham Williams	DF	1960–1968	26	1
94=	Paul Price	DF	1980–1984	25	1
94=	Jonny Williams*	MF	2013–2020	25	1

Notes

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.
Flynn was appointed caretaker manager for two matches in 2010.[20]
Burgess was appointed caretaker manager for a single match in 1965.[20]

References

"Scotland v Wales, 25 March 1876". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
"Why Does Israel's Football Team Play In Europe?". Sky News. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
"Wales national football team: record v other sides". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
"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.
"Wales national football team". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
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.
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.
"Billy Meredith". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
Carradice, Phil (13 December 2012). "Billy Meredith: football superstar". BBC Wales. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
Farmer, David; Stead, Peter (1998). Ivor Allchurch M.B.E. Swansea: Christopher Davies (Publishing) Ltd. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-7154-0733-2.
"Ivor Allchurch". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
"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.
"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.
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.
"Gunter equals Welsh cap record!". Reading F.C. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
Pritchard, Dafydd (20 November 2018). "Albania 1–0 Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
"Wales national football team statistics and records: appearances". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
"Wales Mens Squads". Football Association of Wales. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
"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.
"Wales' football managers". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
"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.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[17] 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.

[22] Flynn was appointed caretaker manager for two matches in 2010.[20]

[24] Burgess was appointed caretaker manager for a single match in 1965.[20]

[1] "Scotland v Wales, 25 March 1876". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.

[2] "Why Does Israel's Football Team Play In Europe?". Sky News. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2019.

[3] "Wales national football team: record v other sides". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.

[4] "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.

[5] "Wales national football team". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.

[GC-6] 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.

[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] "Billy Meredith". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.

[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] Farmer, David; Stead, Peter (1998). Ivor Allchurch M.B.E. Swansea: Christopher Davies (Publishing) Ltd. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-7154-0733-2.

[11] "Ivor Allchurch". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.

[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] "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.

[Rsssf-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] "Gunter equals Welsh cap record!". Reading F.C. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.

[16] Pritchard, Dafydd (20 November 2018). "Albania 1–0 Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 November 2018.

[18] "Wales national football team statistics and records: appearances". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.

[19] "Wales Mens Squads". Football Association of Wales. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.

[20] "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.

[Managers-21] "Wales' football managers". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.

[23] "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.

Wales national football team
General	Football Association of Wales History 1876–1976 1977–present Managers Welsh Football Trust Dragon Park, Wales National Football Development Centre
Venues	Home venues Cardiff City Stadium Aberdare Athletic Ground Anfield Liberty Stadium Millennium Stadium Ninian Park Old Racecourse Ground Parc y Scarlets Penrhyn Park Racecourse Ground St. Helen's The Arms Park The National Stadium The Oval Vetch Field
Statistics	Results and fixtures Records European Championship record World Cup record Hat-tricks
Results	1876–1899 1900–1914 1920–1939 1946–1959 1960–1979 1980–1999 2000–2019 2020–present Unofficial matches Matches v Home Nations
Players	Alphabetical 25+ caps World Cup & Euro Championship squads Born outside Wales Other categories
Goals	Gareth Bale Ian Rush
World Cup	1958
European Championship	2016 2020
Other tournaments	British Home Championship (1884–1984) 2011 Nations Cup
Notable matches	First international match (Scotland v Wales) (1876) 1958 World Cup play-off (1958) 1986 World Cup Qualifier (death of Jock Stein) (1985)
Other FAW teams	Men Amateur (defunct) Under-21 Under-20 Under-19 Under-17 Semi-Pro Women Under-17

Lists of international association football players
UEFA European	Albania 1–24 caps born outside Andorra Armenia men's women's Austria men's born outside (men's) women's Azerbaijan Belgium 5–20 caps 1–4 caps born outside Bosnia and Herzegovina born outside Croatia men's born outside (men's) women's Czech Republic men's women's Denmark East Germany England men's born outside (men's) women's Estonia men's women's Finland France men's women's Georgia Germany men's 20+ caps 5–19 caps 1–4 caps born outside women's Gibraltar Greece Iceland Israel Italy born outside Kosovo men's born outside (men's) women's Luxembourg men's women's Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands born outside Northern Ireland North Macedonia Norway men's women's Portugal born outside Republic of Ireland born outside Romania Russia born outside Saarland San Marino Scotland men's born outside (men's) women's Serbia born outside Slovakia Slovenia Spain born outside Sweden born outside Switzerland born outside Turkey men's women's Ukraine born outside Wales born outside
CONMEBOL South American	Argentina Brazil Colombia Peru Uruguay
CONCACAF North American	Canada men's women's Panama women's United States men's born outside (men's) women's
CAF African	Algeria born outside Angola Botswana women's Chad Ivory Coast women's Nigeria women's Tunisia
AFC Asian	Australia men's born outside women's Hong Kong women's India Iran women's Iraq Japan men's women's Jordan women's Lebanon men's born outside (men's) women's Myanmar women's Pakistan women's Taiwan Uzbekistan women's
OFC Oceanian	New Zealand men's women's

List of Wales international footballers

List of players

See also

Notes

References