19
FIFA Ranking
1
Finals
1958
Last World Cup
1958 (6th)
Best Performance
The last time Wales managed to qualify for the World Cup was in 1958 in Sweden where they reached the quarter finals in the 16-team tournament, before being knocked out by eventual champions Brazil 0-1, with Pele scoring the winner. Fast forward 64 years, and Wales have finally again made it to the big time, and they had to do it the hard way. They narrowly edged out the Czech Republic to finish 2nd in the group, mainly thanks to a home draw against Belgium in the last game of qualifying, before going onto defeat Austria and then Ukraine in the playoffs. They still do have some more recent experience in major competitions though, and they have appeared in the last two European Championships, where they made the semi finals in 2016 before being knocked out by Denmark in the Round of 16 in the EUROs last year
Player to Watch
The undisputed megastar of the current Wales side, 33 year old Bale is the main reason they are at the World Cup this year. He scored both goals in the 2-1 win against Austria and the only goal in the victory over Ukraine in the playoffs, as well as three others in qualifying, and the former Real Madrid and Tottenham player has surpassed 40 internationals goals to become the highest goalscorer in history for his country. His increased game time since moving to the MLS will surely help his fitness ahead of this winter’s major tournament too.
Squad List