Having once been more famous for a raft of great players never to have played in major championships (most notably Ryan Giggs), Wales have climbed out of the dark ages and emerged into the light with one of the world’s best players in their ranks. But is there more to this new Welsh national soccer team than Gareth Bale, and could they really spring a surprise at the European Championship and shock the world? Wales are certainly no upstarts when it comes to playing International football. [+]

The Welsh Football Association was formed early, with Wales becoming the world’s third-oldest football team when they played their first match against Scotland, which ended in a 4-0 Scotland victory! It got better from there, however, with Wales making it to the quarterfinals of the 1958 World Cup.

Wales made it to the 1976 European Championships and reached the last eight by finishing ahead of Austria, Hungary and Luxembourg in their group. But a two-leg defeat to Yugoslavia ended their hopes of going further, and Wales would have to wait for forty years to reach another major championship. 

Under Mark Hughes, Wales came close to qualification for the Euro 2004 finals, but were narrowly defeated by Russia and missed out yet again. Gary Speed’s tenure in charge of his country as manager is the most tragic period in Wales’ football history. The former Leeds United captain got Wales desperately close to qualification for the Euros in 2012, and improved their international ranking from 117th to 45th, only to be found dead in his home, the victim of an apparent suicide just three weeks after Wales thrashed Norway 4-1 in a friendly. 

Chris Coleman was given the job of finishing the great work Speed started and has taken on that mantle with admirable skill, guiding Wales to qualification for Euro 2016 with aplomb. With a team built around the guile and power of Wales’ best player, Gareth Bale, the Welsh qualified out of the group along with Belgium.

Despite not having the experience of neighbors England or many other European nations, Wales will be a threat at the European Championships largely due to Bale and Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey. They can surprise teams and we think they’ll get out of their group (-150). From there, as they showed in qualification, they are a match for anyone on their day. 

Who Does Wales National Team Play Next

Want to know who Wales are playing next? The latest odds and best value will often be very tempting for a side still underestimated by many countries.

Euro Championship - Qualification - Qualifying Round - 10
Tuesday, Nov 21, 202302:45 PM
1FT1
Turkey@Wales
Euro Championship - Qualification - Qualifying Play-offs Path A - Semi-Finals
Thursday, Mar 21, 202403:45 PM
NS
Finland@Wales
Last update on Mar 18, 2024 08:46 PM

Wales National Team Game Schedule

Wales will be a big part of the Euro Cup. Check back here for their full game schedule, including international friendlies in the build-up to their first major tournament for forty years. 

⚽ World Cup2022
SeasonStatusAwayAway ScoreHome ScoreHome
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 21 - 11:00FTNetherlands2Senegal
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 21 - 08:00FTIran26England
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 20 - 11:00FTEcuador2Qatar
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 22 - 05:00FTSaudi Arabia21Argentina
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 22 - 08:00FTTunisiaDenmark
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 22 - 11:00FTPolandMexico
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 23 - 05:00FTCroatiaMorocco
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 23 - 08:00FTJapan21Germany
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 23 - 14:00FTCanada1Belgium
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 24 - 05:00FTCameroon1Switzerland
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 24 - 08:00FTSouth KoreaUruguay
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 24 - 11:00FTGhana23Portugal
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 24 - 14:00FTSerbia2Brazil
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 25 - 08:00FTSenegal31Qatar
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 25 - 11:00FTEcuador11Netherlands
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 25 - 14:00FTUSAEngland
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 26 - 08:00FTSaudi Arabia2Poland
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 26 - 11:00FTDenmark12France
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 26 - 14:00FTMexico2Argentina
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 27 - 08:00FTMorocco2Belgium
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 27 - 11:00FTCanada14Croatia
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 27 - 14:00FTGermany11Spain
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 28 - 05:00FTSerbia33Cameroon
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 28 - 08:00FTGhana32South Korea
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 28 - 11:00FTSwitzerland1Brazil
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 28 - 14:00FTUruguay2Portugal
2022Group Stage - 3Nov 29 - 10:00FTQatar2Netherlands
2022Group Stage - 3Nov 29 - 10:00FTSenegal21Ecuador
2022Group Stage - 3Nov 29 - 14:00FTUSA1Iran
2022Group Stage - 3Nov 30 - 10:00FTFrance1Tunisia
2022Group Stage - 3Nov 30 - 14:00FTArgentina2Poland
2022Group Stage - 3Nov 30 - 14:00FTMexico21Saudi Arabia
2022Group Stage - 3Dec 01 - 10:00FTBelgiumCroatia
2022Group Stage - 3Dec 01 - 10:00FTMorocco21Canada
2022Group Stage - 3Dec 01 - 14:00FTSpain12Japan
2022Group Stage - 3Dec 02 - 10:00FTPortugal12South Korea
2022Group Stage - 3Dec 02 - 10:00FTUruguay2Ghana
2022Group Stage - 3Dec 02 - 14:00FTBrazil1Cameroon
2022Group Stage - 3Dec 02 - 14:00FTSwitzerland32Serbia
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 21 - 14:00FTWales11USA
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 25 - 05:00FTIran2Wales
2022Group Stage - 3Nov 29 - 14:00FTEngland3Wales
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 22 - 14:00FTAustralia14France
2022Group Stage - 1Nov 23 - 11:00FTCosta Rica7Spain
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 26 - 05:00FTAustralia1Tunisia
2022Group Stage - 2Nov 27 - 05:00FTCosta Rica1Japan
2022Group Stage - 3Nov 30 - 10:00FTDenmark1Australia
2022Group Stage - 3Dec 01 - 14:00FTGermany42Costa Rica
2022Round of 16Dec 03 - 10:00FTUSA13Netherlands
2022Round of 16Dec 04 - 14:00FTSenegal3England
2022Round of 16Dec 03 - 14:00FTAustralia12Argentina
2022Round of 16Dec 04 - 10:00FTPoland13France
2022Round of 16Dec 05 - 10:00PENCroatia1 (3)1 (1)Japan
2022Round of 16Dec 06 - 10:00PENSpain0 (0)0 (3)Morocco
2022Round of 16Dec 05 - 14:00FTSouth Korea14Brazil
2022Round of 16Dec 06 - 14:00FTSwitzerland16Portugal
2022Quarter-finalsDec 09 - 14:00PENArgentina2 (4)2 (3)Netherlands
2022Quarter-finalsDec 10 - 14:00FTFrance21England
2022Quarter-finalsDec 09 - 10:00PENBrazil1 (2)1 (4)Croatia
2022Quarter-finalsDec 10 - 10:00FTPortugal1Morocco
2022Semi-finalsDec 13 - 14:00FTCroatia3Argentina
2022Semi-finalsDec 14 - 14:00FTMorocco2France
20223rd Place FinalDec 17 - 10:00FTMorocco12Croatia
2022FinalDec 18 - 10:00PENFrance3 (2)3 (4)Argentina
Last update on Mar 18, 2024 09:15 PM

Wales National Team Standings Today

Where do Wales stand in their Euro Group, which features England, Russia and Slovakia? Check out the latest standings right here. 

⚽ World Cup2022
#TEAMPTSPlayedWinsTiesLoosesGFGA+/-Historical
Group A
1Netherlands73210514WDW
2Senegal63201541WWL
3Ecuador43111431LDW
4Qatar0300317-6LLL
Group B
1England73210927WDW
2USA53120211WDD
3Iran3310247-3LWL
4Wales1301216-5LLD
Group C
1Argentina63201523WWL
2Poland43111220LWD
3Mexico4311123-1WLD
4Saudi Arabia3310235-2LLW
Group D
1France63201633LWW
2Australia6320134-1WWL
3Tunisia43111110WLD
4Denmark1301213-2LLD
Group E
1Japan63201431WLW
2Spain43111936LDW
3Germany43111651WDL
4Costa Rica33102311-8LWL
Group F
1Morocco73210413WWD
2Croatia53120413DWD
3Belgium4311112-1DLW
4Canada0300327-5LLL
Group G
1Brazil63201312LWW
2Switzerland63201431WLW
3Cameroon43111440WDL
4Serbia1301258-3LDL
Group H
1Portugal63201642LWW
2South Korea43111440WLD
3Uruguay43111220WLD
4Ghana3310257-2LWL
Last update on Mar 18, 2024 09:15 PM

How To Make Money Betting On Wales National Team

Wales are, at +5000, a very long shot to actually win Euro 2016, but they could easily surprise a few teams they play along the way, and aren't bad bets to get out of their group purely because of how their group schedule lines up. 

Watch some of Wales' efforts in qualification and you can see why they are a massive threat to teams unprepared to supress their counter-attacking pace and power of Gareth Bale: 

Wales play Slovakia first, where they should have plenty of impetus and the ability to get three points. Next is potentially the hardest game of their group in England, but as plenty of the Welsh squad ply their trade in the English leagues (and Gareth Bale regularly destroyed English teams defenses when he was part of the Premier League) anthing could happen.

Then, in the final group game, Wales play Russia which could effectively act as preparation for the knockout stage with the match likely to decide which team goes through with England.