Episode 1271
History of the Wales national football team (1876–1976)
Tue, 2020-Oct-27 01:12 UTC
Length - 3:29
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.
The featured article for Tuesday, 27 October 2020 is History of the Wales national football team (1876–1976).
The Wales national football team is the third-oldest side in international association football. The side played their first fixture 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 its 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 in a side that 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 side 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 side to the quarter-finals of the 1976 European Championships in their centenary year, when they were defeated by Yugoslavia.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:12 UTC on Tuesday, 27 October 2020.
For the full current version of the article, see History of the Wales national football team (1876–1976) on Wikipedia.
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This has been Matthew Neural. Thank you for listening to featured Wiki of the Day.
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