Wales national football team records and statistics
This page details Wales national football team records; the most capped players, the players with the most goals, Wales's match record by opponent and decade.
Player records
Most capped players
- As of 18 November 2025
Top goalscorers
- As of 18 November 2025
| Rank | Player | Wales career | Caps | Goals | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gareth Bale (list) | 2006–2022 | 111 | 41 | 0.37 |
| 2 | Ian Rush (list) | 1980–1996 | 73 | 28 | 0.38 |
| 3 | Trevor Ford | 1947–1957 | 38 | 23 | 0.61 |
| = | Ivor Allchurch | 1951–1966 | 68 | 23 | 0.34 |
| 5 | Dean Saunders | 1986–2001 | 75 | 22 | 0.29 |
| 6 | Aaron Ramsey | 2008– | 86 | 21 | 0.24 |
| 7 | Craig Bellamy | 1998–2013 | 78 | 19 | 0.24 |
| 8 | Harry Wilson | 2013– | 67 | 17 | 0.25 |
| 9 | Robert Earnshaw | 2002–2012 | 58 | 16 | 0.28 |
| = | Cliff Jones | 1954–1969 | 59 | 16 | 0.27 |
| = | Mark Hughes | 1984–1999 | 72 | 16 | 0.22 |
| 12 | John Charles | 1950–1965 | 38 | 15 | 0.39 |
| = | Kieffer Moore | 2019– | 52 | 15 | 0.29 |
Age records
- Youngest player to make debut: Harry Wilson – 16 years and 207 days
- Oldest player to play a game: Billy Meredith – 45 years and 229 days
- Youngest player to play at World Cup finals: Rubin Colwill – 20 years and 216 days
- Oldest player to play at World Cup finals: Wayne Hennessey – 35 years and 305 days
- Youngest player to score a goal: Gareth Bale – 17 years and 83 days
Other
- Longest serving player: Billy Meredith – 25 years (1895–1920)
Games and results
- Firsts
- First International: 26 March 1876 vs Scotland
- First home international: 5 March 1877 vs Scotland
- First win: 26 February 1881 vs England
- First overseas opponent: France, 25 May 1933
- First win over an overseas opponent: 23 November 1949 vs Belgium
- Biggest
- Longest
- Longest winning streak: 6, 2 June 1980 – 16 May 1981
- Longest losing streak: 5, 25 March 1876 – 27 March 1880
Goals
- First Welsh goal: William Davies, 18 January 1879 vs England
- Youngest player to score: Gareth Bale – 17 years and 83 days, 7 October 2006 v Slovakia
- Most goals scored in one game by a player: 4
- John Price, 12 Feb 1882 vs Ireland
- Jack Doughty, 3 Mar 1888 vs Ireland
- Mel Charles, 11 Apr 1962 vs Northern Ireland
- Ian Edwards, 25 October 1978 vs Malta
Hat-tricks
- First hat-trick: John Price, 12 February 1882 vs Ireland
International tournaments
FIFA World Cup
- Qualification
- First match: 15 October 1949 vs England
- First goal: Mal Griffiths vs England, 15 October 1949
- Finals
- First finals: Sweden 1958
- Total number of times qualified for the finals: 2 (1958, 2022)
- First game: 8 June 1958 vs Hungary
- First goal: John Charles vs Hungary, 8 June 1958
- Most successful finals: 1958 – Quarter-finals
- World Cup top goalscorer: 2
UEFA European Championship
- Finals
- First finals: France 2016
- Total number of times qualified for the finals: 2 (2016, 2020)
- First game: 11 June 2016 vs Slovakia
- First goal: Gareth Bale vs Slovakia, 11 June 2016
- Most successful finals: 2016 – Semi-finals
- European Championship top goalscorer: 3
Rankings
- Highest FIFA Rank: 8 (October 2015)
- Lowest FIFA Rank: 117 (August 2011)
- Highest Elo Rank: 3 (1876–1885)
- Lowest Elo Rank: 75 (September 2000)
Team records
Head to head
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | W% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 25 |
| Andorra | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 100 |
| Argentina | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Armenia | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Austria | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 13 | 36 |
| Azerbaijan | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 88 |
| Belarus | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 8 | 86 |
| Belgium | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 29 | 32 | 26 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Brazil | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 20 | 10 |
| Bulgaria | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 50 |
| Canada | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 50 |
| Chile | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| China | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 100 |
| Costa Rica | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 50 |
| Croatia | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 13 |
| Cyprus | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 71 |
| Czech Republic | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 17 |
| Czechoslovakia | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 25 |
| Denmark | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 36 |
| East Germany | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 25 |
| England | 105 | 14 | 21 | 70 | 91 | 256 | 13 |
| Estonia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 75 |
| Faroe Islands | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 100 |
| Finland | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 14 | 44 |
| France | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 17 |
| Georgia | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 20 |
| Germany | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 20 |
| Gibraltar | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 50 |
| Greece | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 50 |
| Hungary | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 15 | 50 |
| Iceland | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 8 | 67 |
| Iran | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 50 |
| Ireland | 62 | 29 | 12 | 21 | 139 | 102 | 47 |
| Israel | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 50 |
| Italy | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 24 | 20 |
| Jamaica | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100 |
| Kazakhstan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 100 |
| Kuwait | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Latvia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 100 |
| Liechtenstein | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 100 |
| Luxembourg | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 100 |
| Malta | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 100 |
| Mexico | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 20 |
| Moldova | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 75 |
| Montenegro | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 60 |
| Netherlands | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 29 | 0 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| North Macedonia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 50 |
| Northern Ireland | 35 | 16 | 12 | 7 | 52 | 31 | 46 |
| Norway | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 14 | 27 |
| Panama | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Paraguay | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Poland | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 9 |
| Portugal | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 25 |
| Qatar | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100 |
| Republic of Ireland | 19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 18 | 42 |
| Rest of the United Kingdom | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 50 |
| Romania | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 20 |
| Russia | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 20 |
| San Marino | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 100 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 100 |
| Scotland | 107 | 23 | 23 | 61 | 124 | 243 | 21 |
| Serbia | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 0 |
| Slovakia | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 13 | 50 |
| Slovenia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Korea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Soviet Union | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 20 |
| Spain | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 17 |
| Sweden | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 0 |
| Switzerland | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 25 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 100 |
| Tunisia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Turkey | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 36 |
| Ukraine | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 25 |
| Uruguay | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| United States | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Yugoslavia | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 18 | 0 |
| West Germany | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 0 |
| Totals | 729 | 234 | 165 | 330 | 912 | 1,165 | 32 |
P – Played; W – Won; D – Drawn; L – Lost
Statistics include official FIFA recognised matches only
Up to date as of 19 November 2025
By decade
| Decade | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 20 | −19 | 0 |
| 1880s | 28 | 8 | 3 | 17 | 60 | 82 | −22 | 29 |
| 1890s | 30 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 43 | 112 | −69 | 10 |
| 1900s | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 37 | 60 | −23 | 27 |
| 1910s | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 23 | −8 | 20 |
| 1920s | 32 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 42 | 61 | −19 | 28 |
| 1930s | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 54 | 60 | −6 | 43 |
| 1940s | 15 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 20 | 31 | −11 | 33 |
| 1950s | 49 | 14 | 14 | 21 | 66 | 91 | −25 | 29 |
| 1960s | 54 | 12 | 9 | 33 | 74 | 108 | −34 | 22 |
| 1970s | 65 | 20 | 18 | 27 | 60 | 77 | −17 | 31 |
| 1980s | 68 | 24 | 19 | 25 | 80 | 72 | +8 | 35 |
| 1990s | 67 | 24 | 10 | 33 | 79 | 109 | −30 | 36 |
| 2000s | 89 | 32 | 23 | 34 | 101 | 97 | +4 | 36 |
| 2010s | 85 | 34 | 16 | 35 | 95 | 96 | −1 | 40 |
| 2020s | 67 | 26 | 22 | 19 | 86 | 75 | +11 | 39 |
| Overall | 729 | 234 | 165 | 330 | 912 | 1,165 | −253 | 32 |
P – Played,
W – Won,
D – Drawn,
L – Lost,
GF – Goals For,
GA – Goals Against,
GD – Goal Difference
Statistics include official FIFA recognised matches only
Up to date as of 19 November 2025
Notes
- nb1 Only clubs played for while receiving caps are listed.
See also
- British Home Championship
- 1954 FIFA World Cup qualification
- 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification
- 1958 FIFA World Cup
References
Bibliography
- Hayes, Dean P. (1994). Wales: The Complete Who's Who of Footballers Since 1946. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3700-9.
- Oliver, Guy (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.