The Wales national football team is the third-oldest side in international association football. The team played their first match in March 1876, four years after Scotland and England had contested the first-ever international match. Wales played annual fixtures against Scotland, England, and later Ireland, and these were eventually organised into the British Home Championship, an annual competition between the Home Nations. Wales did not win their first championship until the 1906–07 tournament and this remained the nation's only triumph before the First World War. Wales improved considerably in the post-war period, and claimed three titles during the 1920s, although the team was often hindered by the reluctance of Football League clubs to release their players for international duty. The situation was so grave that, in the early 1930s, Wales were forced to select a team of lower league and amateur players which became known as "Keenor and the 10 unknowns", a reference to captain Fred Keenor and the relative obscurity of his teammates.
By the late 1930s, Wales were again able to call upon their strongest side, and enjoyed their most successful period in the British Home Championship, winning four titles in the six years before the Second World War. When competitive football resumed after the war, Wales began facing opponents from farther afield and played matches against other European nations for the first time. The side also began competing in qualification groups for the FIFA World Cup, but failed to qualify for the 1950 and 1954 tournaments. Under manager Jimmy Murphy, Wales qualified for their first World Cup in the 1958 tournament and progressed from their group before being defeated by Brazil in the quarter-final.
The side suffered a decline in the 1960s as the 1958 World Cup generation gradually retired. Dave Bowen replaced Murphy and managed the team for a decade on a part-time basis but enjoyed little success, failing to qualify for a World Cup or the early editions of the European Nations' Cup (later known as the European Championships). He did help the team to share the British Home Championship during the 1969–70 season, the last time Wales won the tournament before the competition was discontinued. In total, Wales won the championship twelve times, sharing five titles.
Bowen left in 1974, having turned down the chance to manage full-time. He was replaced by Englishman Mike Smith who led the team to the quarter-finals of the 1976 European Championships in their centenary year, when they were defeated by Yugoslavia.
Formation and early matches
The first official international association football match was held in November 1872 between Scotland and England. Four years later, G. A. Clay-Thomas, a Welshman living in London, placed adverts in sports magazines The Field and Bell's Life proposing that a Welsh side be raised for a match against either Scotland or Ireland in rugby union. Llewelyn Kenrick, a solicitor who had helped to found Druids F.C. in North Wales, responded but instead pushed ahead with plans for a football match and accepted an invitation to play the Scottish national side. He helped establish the Football Association of Wales (FAW) in February 1876 to finalise arrangements for the forthcoming match, being appointed its first secretary. To qualify for selection, players were required to be Welsh or to have resided in the country for at least three years. Kenrick was criticised by some in South Wales for failing to notify players in the region of the forthcoming match, instead publishing notices in London-based journals. Unperturbed, he continued with his plans and trial matches were held to find suitable players for the match.
The first Wales international football match was held on 25March 1876 at Hamilton Crescent in Partick with the side wearing a kit consisting of white shirts, featuring the Prince of Wales' feathers, and black shorts. The Welsh side were outclassed by their more experienced opponents, suffering a 4–0 defeat. A second fixture between the two sides was arranged for the following year, and the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham became the venue for Wales' first home international. The Welsh side fell to a 2–0 defeat in the match. Wales returned to Scotland in 1878 but a fixture clash with the final of the Welsh Cup between Druids and Wrexham led many players to refuse to travel. Such was the desperation to find willing players that the secretary of the Scottish Football Association travelled to Wales and visited the homes of players in an attempt to raise a side. A squad was eventually assembled but, having travelled overnight to Glasgow and containing many players who were not of sufficient standard, the side were defeated 9–0. As of June 2020, the result remains Wales' worst defeat in international football.
In 1879, Wales and England met for the first time in international football at a snow-covered Kennington Oval in South London. The poor weather conditions resulted in the match being shortened to 60 minutes and the relatively unknown status of the Welsh side led to a low turnout of spectators; newspaper reports estimate the crowd was in the low hundreds with some even writing there were fewer than 100 in attendance. In the match, William Davies scored Wales' first international goal but his side were defeated 2–1 following goals from Herbert Whitfeld and Thomas Sorby. The standard of the Welsh side was slowly improving and the side nearly held the visiting English side in March 1880. Having trailed 3–0, the Welsh side scored twice in the final ten minutes through William Roberts and John Roberts but were unable to equalise. William Roberts also scored Wales' goal against Scotland two weeks later in a 5–1 defeat. Wales travelled to Alexandra Meadows in Blackburn the following year to play England; John Vaughan scored the only goal of the game as Wales won their first international football match.
Ireland were the final Home Nation to establish an international football team, playing their first fixture in February 1882 against England. Having suffered a 13–0 defeat in their first match, the Irish side travelled to the Racecourse Ground to meet Wales for the first time. The more experienced Welsh side also proved too strong for the Irish, John Price becoming the first Welshman to score a hat-trick in international football during a 7–1 victory. Buoyed by their win, the Welsh side met England a month later and recorded a second victory over their neighbours. England had taken a 2–1 lead but were reduced to ten men when Charles Bambridge suffered a shoulder injury. Wales pulled the score back to 3–3 before scoring twice in the final three minutes to claim a 5–3 victory.
Start of the British International Championship
With all the Home Nations competing regularly, the decision was taken to introduce a competitive tournament between the sides, and the British International Championship (later to become better known as the British Home Championship) was created in 1884. The inaugural tournament was won by Scotland who won all three of their ties. Having defeated Ireland 6–0 in their opening match, Wales went on to finish third after suffering successive defeats to England and Scotland. The early stages of the competition continued on the same lines; England and Scotland competed for the title, while Wales would finish third by defeating Ireland. In the first three years of competition, Wales' only points other than in matches against Ireland was a 1–1 draw with England in the 1884–85 tournament. In the 1886–87 edition, Wales finished bottom of the competition for the first time after losing all three of their matches, including a 4–1 defeat to Ireland in the nation's first victory in international football. Wales had struggled to raise a team for the match and included Wrexham defender Bob Roberts playing as the goalkeeper. FAW secretary Alexander Hunter also stepped in when Humphrey Jones withdrew late. Hunter had never played football at such a level and his performance was described as "glaringly deficient".
In a reversal of the previous year's events, the Freeman's Journal wrote that a weakened Ireland team travelled to Wales for the 1887–88 British Home Championship. The publication reported that "some young gentlemen from Belfast" had claimed to represent Ireland and went on to lose the match 11–0, although there were only four debutants in the team on the day. The scoreline remains a record victory for Wales. Jack Doughty scored four goals, and the game was so one-sided that three Welsh players left the field before the match ended to ensure they were on time for their train home. After 5–1 defeats to both England and Scotland, Wales again finished third.
Wales avoided defeat in a fixture against Scotland for the first time with a goalless draw in the 1888–89 British Home Championship. The feat was achieved despite local amateur Alf Pugh starting in goal for Wales after the original selection, James Trainer, failed to arrive at the match. Pugh played the first 30 minutes before Wrexham's Sam Gillam arrived and took his place, thus becoming the first substitute ever used in international football. The following year, Wales played a home fixture outside the nation for the first time when a meeting with Ireland was held in Shrewsbury in an attempt to draw a large crowd. Wales won the match 5–2. By the early 1890s, with the domestic game thriving in England, Wales were struggling to get players released for international fixtures, particularly for away matches against Ireland which required a three-day absence from a player's club due to ferry travel. As a result, Wales finished bottom of the British Home Championship five times during the decade, including three consecutive seasons between 1891 and 1893. Wales did record their highest placed finish to date in 1895 by coming second to England after drawing all three of their fixtures, inspired by the likes of James Trainer, Billy Lewis and a debuting Billy Meredith.
Wales continued their good form at the start of the 1895–96 British Home Championship by defeating Ireland 6–0 with both Meredith and Lewis scoring braces. The team's optimism was short-lived, as they suffered a heavy 9–1 defeat to England in their following match, with Steve Bloomer scoring goals. Wales would finish the 19th century by losing nine of their final ten matches, only avoiding defeat in a 2–2 draw with Scotland in March 1897. The difficulties in calling up players from English teams became so pronounced the FAW put forward a motion that national teams be granted the right to overrule clubs on player selection, although this was rejected. An approach to the English governing body, The Football Association, was also ignored.
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