Wales ended 64 years of hurt to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup earlier this year, and this time around, the Dragons will be hopeful of creating even more history based on their previous international tournaments.
Having been drawn into quite the group with England, USA and Iran, Wales will be feeling confident that they can progress to the knockout stages and cause another upset on one of football’s biggest stages, with the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey hopeful of one last final hurrah for their country.
Indeed, Wales’ stock as a footballing nation has risen considerably over the past few years. And with Rob Page’s side finally set to compete in a World Cup, HITC Football will look back at Cymru’s participation in the competition and the lessons the current team can take heading into Qatar.
Wales’ history in the World Cup is an interesting one, yet there’s still plenty to delve into as we take a look at the home nation’s record in the competition since 1930.
Wales stun the world in first and only World Cup appearance
As mentioned right at the start, it’s been 64 years since Wales last competed in a World Cup. And unfortunately, this last appearance is the one and only time the Dragons have ever competed in football’s biggest international tournament ahead of Qatar.
The 1958 World Cup is known by many as the competition where a plucky teenager from Brazil called Pele first made his mark on international football. And for Wales, the British nation were one of the sides to face the full force of the sporting legend’s talents.
Having drawn all three of their group stage matches, Wales then went on to beat 1954 finalists Hungary in a play-off match to book their ticket to the final eight, where the Dragons met Brazil, and the rest is history. Pele scored the only goal in a 1-0 result as the South American giants went on to win their first-ever World Cup.
As for Wales, beating Hungary and heading to the quarters was quite the run from Jimmy Murphy’s side. And this winter, Page will be hopeful of besting this finish with a rejuvenated squad hopeful of making quite the impact in Qatar.
The almost years for Wales
64 years is a long time to wait for a nation as big as Wales to return to the World Cup finals, yet the British powerhouses have come close to qualifying for the competition on more than one occasion, each as painful as the last.
The closest Wales have come to qualifying for a World Cup before this year was all the way back in the 1990s, when the Dragons were literally, as per BBC Sport, one penalty away from booking their ticket to the United States for 1994, a competition that neither England or Scotland qualified for.
Whilst 13 million people in the United Kingdom watched Paul Bodin fluff Wales’ chance to secure qualification for 1994, the 2017 loss to the Republic of Ireland will likely sting for many more Cymru fans of this generation, especially given the high that was Euro 2016.
With Wales on top of the world, the Dragons looked set to make more history with qualification to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. However, James McClean had other ideas as the Irish winger scored the sole goal in Cardiff to end Cymru’s chances of making it to another major tournament.
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