The Wales national football team is the third-oldest side in international association football.

Mike Smith era The Wales national side had reached the quarter-finals of the 1976 European Championships but suffered a controversial defeat to Yugoslavia and failed to reach the finals. The team's competitiveness had raised optimism amongst supporters ahead of qualifying for the 1978 FIFA World Cup, but this was eroded quickly as they suffered a 1–0 defeat against Scotland in their first qualifying game. However, a surprise 3–0 victory over Czechoslovakia, reigning European champions and unbeaten in their previous 22 fixtures, kept their hopes alive. Qualifying would not be completed until the end of 1977 as the 1976–77 British Home Championship was played in between. The competition began with a goalless draw with Scotland before a game against England became synonymous with Welsh nationalism. The Football Association of Wales (FAW) had started playing the Welsh anthem, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau", ahead of games and requested that the anthem be played before the game alongside the English anthem, "God Save the Queen. The Football Association (FA) refused the request, a decision which infuriated many of the Welsh players. At the match, the two teams stood in line for God Save the Queen but, as the English team took position ready to start the match, the Welsh side remained in line. FA officials attempted to hurry the players away but the Welsh side stood and sang their anthem on their own as the home crowd jeered. Spurred on, Wales went on to secure their only victory at Wembley Stadium as Leighton James converted a penalty he had won after being fouled by Peter Shilton to win 1–0. A 1–1 draw with Northern Ireland secured a second place finish in the Championship.

In September 1977, Wales played back-to-back fixtures against Kuwait, who became the first Arab side to play in Great Britain during the first match at the Racecourse Ground. The two teams played out a goalless draw and repeated the result two weeks later in Kuwait City. Qualification for the 1978 World Cup resumed in October, but Wales were forced to seek an alternative venue when both Ninian Park and the Racecourse Ground had their safety certificates revoked, resulting in capacity at the venues being greatly reduced. The match was eventually held at Anfield in Liverpool, becoming the first Welsh home fixture to be played outside the country since 1890. Despite attempts to ensure Welsh fans received priority for the home fixture, Scottish fans were able to obtain the majority of the tickets. There were numerous incidents of Wales fans being mugged by opposing fans outside the ground for their tickets, including FAW president Terry Squire who lost his to a pickpocket. Other Welsh fans at the game left at halftime, fearing for their own safety. There was further controversy on the pitch as Scotland were awarded a penalty for handball, despite the arm that had connected with the ball belonging to Scottish forward Joe Jordan. Scotland converted the penalty and added a second as Wales pushed for an equaliser to win the game. A 1–0 defeat to Czechoslovakia in their final qualifying game left Wales bottom of the group.

Wales manager Mike Smith was rewarded with a new three-year contract at the end of 1977, nearly doubling his annual salary in the process. He led the side to another second place finish in the 1977–78 British Home Championship, before enjoying a positive start to qualifying for the 1980 European Championships. They began their campaign by defeating Malta 7–0 at the Racecourse Ground with Ian Edwards scoring four of his side's goals. This was followed by a 1–0 victory over Turkey before they finished the first round of fixtures by losing 2–0 to West Germany. A third consecutive second place finish in the 1978–79 British Home Championship followed, which included a John Toshack hat-trick in a 3–0 win over Scotland, before Malta were defeated again in June 1979. However, the side's good form came to an end as they suffered defeats to West Germany and Turkey to finish third in their group and failed to qualify for the 1980 World Cup. Byron Stevenson later received a four-and-a-half year ban from international football after breaking the jaw of an opposition player in the latter game. The match was also Smith's final game in charge of the national side as he accepted an offer to manage Hull City.

Mike England takes over Wales Arrival and 1982 World Cup The FAW compiled a six-man shortlist to find Smith's replacement and eventually appointed former captain Mike England in his first managerial role. He took charge of his first match in May 1980 against England and met his players for the first time only three days before the match. England had beaten reigning World Cup holders Argentina four days prior but Wales recorded an upset by winning 4–1 at the Racecourse with goals from Mickey Thomas, James, Ian Walsh and an own goal. The victory was their first home win over England for 25 years and remains their biggest win over their opponents, while the nature of the defeat led to violent clashes between the two sets of supporters. However, Wales were unable to capitalise on their victory, losing both of their remaining fixtures to finish third in the 1979–80 British Home Championship. England's first qualifying campaign in his new role was for the 1982 FIFA World Cup and consecutive 4–0 victories over Iceland and Turkey in their opening games led him to declare that Wales were "heading for the finals in 1982". His confidence was further raised when they defeated both Czechoslovakia and Turkey 1–0 to win their opening four games.

Wales' good form continued in the 1980–81 British Home Championship, defeating Scotland and holding England to a goalless draw at Wembley. The results meant that a win over Northern Ireland in their final game would give Wales their first Home Championship title since 1937. However, an increase in violence during The Troubles led ten of Wales' squad to refuse to travel for the match, despite assurances from Sinn Féin over safety. With England also refusing to travel, the competition was halted with no winner declared for the only time in the competition's history. Wales resumed qualifying for the 1982 World Cup by holding the Soviet Union to a goalless draw at the Racecourse with more than 29,000 spectators attending. Wales travelled to Czechoslovakia in September 1981 knowing a win would almost guarantee qualification, but an own goal by goalkeeper Dai Davies, the first goal he had conceded in more than 450 minutes of qualifying, and a second Czech goal in the second half gave Wales their first defeat of the campaign. In their next game, Wales were favourites to beat Iceland and took the lead in the first half. However, an electrical fire at Vetch Field delayed the match for more than 40 minutes with the players finishing the final minute of the first half before immediately returning to the dressing room for half time. Iceland took advantage of the disruption, equalising in the first minute of the second half and, despite Alan Curtis again giving Wales the lead, Iceland severely dented Wales' qualification hopes by securing a 2–2 draw. An irate England criticised his side's supporters, accusing rival fans of Cardiff City and Swansea City of being more focused on barracking each other than supporting their side.

Wales' entered their final game needing a point against the Soviet Union to qualify but their preparations were disrupted as the Russian authorities demanded that the Welsh side first travel to Riga and then Tbilisi before changing the team's hotel on arrival with England accusing the opposition of "trying to make things uncomfortable for us". His side fell to a 3–0 defeat in the game. The result, coupled with that of the Czechs, meant that Wales failed to qualify having finished tied on points with the Czechs but ultimately losing out on goal difference.

1984 European Championships

A draw with Spain and defeats to Scotland and England in the 1981–82 British Home Championship left Wales winless in their previous eight fixtures, before they broke the run by beating Northern Ireland 3–0, a match which attracted Wales' lowest post-war crowd for an international with only 2,315 fans attending at the Racecourse. Crowds remained low as Wales began their qualifying campaign for the 1984 European Championships with a 1–0 win over Norway in front of less than 4,500 at Vetch Field. In their second fixture, Wales recovered from 4–2 down to draw 4–4 with Yugoslavia before losing to England in the 1983–84 British Home Championship. The match against England attracted only 24,000 fans at Wembley, adding increasing pressure on the future of the competition. A single goal from Jeremy Charles secured a victory over Bulgaria in their third qualifying match as Wales led the group early on. Before they continued their qualifying campaign, Wales secured a lucrative friendly against Brazil at Ninian Park in June 1983, paying £50,000 for the side to travel. Despite their opponents lofty reputation the match ended in a 1–1 draw, with Wales having initially led through Brian Flynn's goal, and generated more than £200,000 for the FAW.

A goalless draw with Norway in September, along with their opponents subsequent defeat to Yugoslavia, left Wales needing only two points from their final two matches to qualify. The first of the two fixtures started on bad terms as Wales arrived in Bulgaria to find their training ground of poor standard. England referred to the facilities as a "gypsy site" and Bulgarian officials later admitted that the poor facilities were chosen in retaliation for Wales' refusal to allow the Bulgarian team to train at the Racecourse Ground ahead of their previous meeting. Wales went on to lose the match 1–0 while England complained of the Bulgarians physical tactics, especially against Ian Rush who commented that he had "received the most savage treatment I had ever had to take", including being spat on by opposition substitutes. Nevertheless, Wales went into their final game against Yugoslavia at Ninian Park knowing a win would guarantee qualification. In an attempt to boost their chances, the FAW made a request to their English counterparts to postpone club games featuring Welsh players but this was rejected. Robbie James gave Wales the lead in the second half but Yugoslavia equalised before holding out to secure a draw. Wales could still qualify for the tournament if Bulgaria and Yugoslavia drew their final game or Bulgaria won by a single goal. The match nearly went in Wales' favour, with the match tied at 2–2 until the 92nd minute when Ljubomir Radanović scored a late winning goal for Yugoslavia, winning the group for his side and ending Wales' hopes of qualifying.

Wales were dealt a further blow by the decision to end the British Home Championship in its 100th year as the competition was one of the FAW's biggest revenue streams. The final competition began with a 2–1 defeat to Scotland but Wales went on to record a victory over England, with Mark Hughes scoring the only goal on his debut, and drew with eventual winners Northern Ireland.

1986 World Cup