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 2019, Wales have played 661 international matches since their debut, winning 208, drawing 143 and losing 310.[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 96 caps as of November 2019. 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 2019, 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 2019, 94 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 19 November 2019.

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 96 caps.
Neville Southall is Wales' 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* DF2007–2019960
2 Neville Southall GK1982–1997920
3 Wayne Hennessey* GK2007–2019890
4 Ashley Williams* DF2008–2019862
5 Gary Speed MF1990–2004857Manager[20]
6 Gareth Bale* FW2006–20198333
7 Craig Bellamy FW1998–20137819
8 Joe Ledley* MF2006–2018774
9 Dean Saunders FW1986–20017522
10= Peter Nicholas MF1979–1991732
Ian Rush FW1980–19967328
12= Mark Hughes FW1984–19997216Manager[20]
Joey Jones DF1975–1986721
14 Ivor Allchurch FW1950–19666823
15 Brian Flynn MF1974–1984667Manager[lower-alpha 2]
16 Andy Melville DF1989–2004653
17= Ryan Giggs MF1991–20076412Manager[21]
Sam Vokes* FW2008–20196411
19 David Phillips MF1984–1996622
20 Aaron Ramsey* MF2008–20196016
21= Barry Horne MF1987–1997592
Cliff Jones MF1954–19695916
Kevin Ratcliffe DF1980–1993590
Terry Yorath MF1969–1981592Manager[20]
23= Simon Davies MF2001–2010586
Robert Earnshaw FW2002–20125816
Leighton Phillips DF1971–1981580
28 Joe Allen* MF2009–2019562
29 Leighton James MF1971–19885410
Mark Pembridge MF1991–2003546
31= Ben Davies* DF2012–2019520
Dai Davies GK1975–1982520
Sam Ricketts DF2005–2014520
Carl Robinson MF1999–2009521
35= James Collins DF2004–2016513
John Hartson FW1995–20055114
John Mahoney MF1967–1983511
Mickey Thomas MF1977–1986514
38= Paul Jones GK1997–2006500
Andy King* MF2009–2018502
Rod Thomas MF1967–1977500
43 Danny Gabbidon DF2002–2014490
43 Billy Meredith FW1895–19204811
44 Robbie James MF1979–1988477
45= Mike England DF1962–1975444Manager[20]
Hal Robson-Kanu* FW2010–2017445
47= David Edwards MF2007–2017433
Neil Taylor* DF2010–2019431
Stuart Williams DF1954–1965430
50 David Vaughan MF2003–2016421
51= Mark Bowen DF1986–1997413
Jack Kelsey GK1954–1962410
Rob Page DF1999–2005410
Alf Sherwood DF1947–1957410
55= Peter Rodrigues DF1965–1974400
John Toshack FW1969–19804013Manager[20]
57= Mark Aizlewood DF1986–1995390
Clayton Blackmore MF1985–1997391
Terry Hennessey DF1962–1973390
Ronnie Rees MF1965–1972393
Robbie Savage MF1995–2004392
62= John Charles FW1950–19653815
Simon Church FW2009–2016383
Trevor Ford FW1947–19573823
65= Gary Sprake GK1964–1975370
Kit Symons DF1992–2004372
67= Mark Delaney DF1999–2006360
Carl Fletcher MF2004–2009361
69= James Chester* DF2014–2018350
Alan Curtis MF1976–1987356
71= Wyn Davies FW1964–1974346
Mel Hopkins DF1956–1963340
Jason Koumas MF2001–20093410
Lewin Nyatanga DF2006–2011340
75 Roy Paul DF1949–1956331
76= Ron Burgess MF1947–1954321Manager[lower-alpha 3]
Chris Coleman DF1992–2002324Manager[20]
Fred Keenor DF1920–1932322
Roy Vernon FW1957–1968328
80= Mel Charles DF1955–1963316
Kenny Jackett MF1983–1988310
82= Barrie Hole MF1963–1971300
Terry Medwin FW1953–1963306
John Robinson MF1995–2002303
85= Nathan Blake FW1994–2003294
Andrew Crofts MF2005–2017290
Ron Davies FW1964–1974298
Gil Reece MF1965–1975292
89 Malcolm Page DF1971–1979280
90= Alan Durban FW1966–1972272
Billy Lewis FW1885–1898278
Charlie Morris DF1900–1911270
93 Graham Williams DF1960–1968261
94 Paul Price DF1980–1984251

See also

Notes
  1. 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.
  2. Flynn was appointed caretaker manager for two matches in 2010.[20]
  3. Burgess was appointed caretaker manager for a single match in 1965.[20]

References
  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.
  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.
  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.
  17. "Wales national football team statistics and records: appearances". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  18. "Wales Mens Squads". Football Association of Wales. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  19. "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.
  20. "Wales' football managers". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  21. "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.

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