Wales at the FIFA World Cup - wikipedia Wales at the FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the men 's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA ), the sport 's global governing body. The championship has been contested every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II. The Wales national football team has entered every World Cup since the 1950 tournament, but to date has only qualified for one World Cup, in 1958. On that occasion, they reached the quarter - finals before being eliminated by eventual winners Brazil. Contents 1 History 1.1 Before 1950 1.2 Brazil 1950 1.3 Switzerland 1954 1.4 Sweden 1958 1.5 Chile 1962 2 Record at the FIFA World Cup 2.1 By match 2.2 Record by opponent 3 Statistics 3.1 Most appearances 3.2 Top goalscorers 4 References 5 External links History Before 1950 During the preparations for the 1928 Olympic Football Tournament, FIFA ruled that all its member associations must provide `` broken time '' payments to cover the expenses of players from their country who participated. In response to what they considered to be unacceptable interference, the football associations of Wales, England, Ireland and Scotland held a meeting at which they agreed to resign from FIFA. As a result, Wales did not compete in the three interwar World Cup competitions. The Football Association of Wales did not rejoin FIFA as a permanent member until 1946. Brazil 1950 The 1949 -- 50 British Home Championship was used as the qualifying group for the four British teams ahead of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, with the top two qualifying for the finals in Brazil. Defeats for Wales in their first two matches against England ( 4 -- 1 at home ) and Scotland ( 2 -- 0 away ) meant Wales were no longer able to qualify regardless of the result in their final game against Ireland ( IFA ). Despite finishing in second place and thus qualifying for the finals, Scotland declined to travel to Brazil, but instead of retaining two British qualifiers and inviting either Wales or Ireland to replace the Scots, FIFA invited France, Portugal and the other Ireland team to participate. Only France accepted, but they ultimately also pulled out. Switzerland 1954 As in 1950, the 1953 -- 54 British Home Championship was used to determine which British nations would qualify for the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland. In their three matches, Wales managed just one point, with a 3 -- 3 draw in Scotland sandwiched between home defeats to England ( 4 -- 1 ) and Northern Ireland ( 2 -- 1 ), leaving them bottom of the table. Wales ' five goals in qualifying were scored by just two players : John Charles ( 3 ) and Ivor Allchurch ( 2 ). Sweden 1958 The qualification process for the 1958 FIFA World Cup saw FIFA split up the Home Nations for the first time, with Wales drawn into Group 4 with Czechoslovakia and East Germany. Their qualifying campaign started off well, with a goal from Roy Vernon proving the difference in a 1 -- 0 win over Czechoslovakia in Cardiff, but a 2 -- 1 loss to East Germany in Leipzig and a 2 -- 0 defeat to Czechoslovakia left Wales bottom of the group going into the final match at home to East Germany on 25 September 1957. Goals from Des Palmer and Cliff Jones gave Wales a 3 -- 0 lead going into the half - time break ; Manfred Kaiser pulled one back for the East Germans, but it proved to be too great a margin to overcome, and Palmer completed his hat - trick to give Wales a 4 -- 1 win and put them level on points with Czechoslovakia at the top of the group. A win for East Germany over Czechoslovakia by the right scoreline the following month would see Wales qualify for their first World Cup as group winners. In the end, Czechoslovakia beat East Germany by the same scoreline as Wales had ( 4 -- 1 ), consigning Wales to second place in the group and ending their World Cup qualifying journey. However, elsewhere in qualifying, Israel had reached the final round of qualifying without playing a single match as a result of their opponents pulling out for various political reasons. FIFA ruled that no team other than the hosts and holders could qualify without playing any matches, so they ordered a qualification play - off against one of the second - placed European teams. Belgium were drawn first, but refused to participate ; Wales were the next team drawn, and so a two - legged play - off was scheduled for early 1958. Wales won each leg 2 -- 0, giving them a 4 -- 0 aggregate win. Wales ' manager at the time was Manchester United assistant manager Jimmy Murphy ; the second leg of the Israel play - off was scheduled for the same day as Manchester United 's European Cup quarter - final against Red Star Belgrade, which Murphy missed to lead his country, a decision that might have saved his life -- the Manchester United plane crashed in Munich on the return journey from Belgrade in an incident that killed 23 people, including eight Manchester United players and three members of the club 's staff. At the finals tournament, Wales were drawn in Group 3 along with 1954 finalists Hungary, Mexico and hosts Sweden. Wales began with a 1 -- 1 draw with Hungary, John Charles scoring a 27th - minute equaliser after József Bozsik had given the Magyars the lead in the fifth minute. Ivor Allchurch then gave Wales the lead after half an hour of their second game against Mexico, only for Jaime Belmonte to equalise with a minute left to play. That result left Wales in second place in the group after two matches, but their final match was against leaders Sweden. The two final matches were not played simultaneously, with Wales and Sweden kicking off five hours earlier than Hungary and Mexico, which allowed Wales to stake an early claim to a place in the quarter - finals ; they held the hosts to a 0 -- 0 draw, the first time Sweden had been shut out at home in almost a year. Because of the tie - breaking criteria in use at the tournament, that result meant that, regardless of the margin of victory, the best Hungary and Mexico could manage would be to force a play - off against Wales for a place in the quarter - finals -- a draw would see them both eliminated. Hungary won the match 4 -- 0, and the play - off was scheduled for two days later in Solna. Hungary took the lead through Lajos Tichy after 33 minutes and held the lead until half - time. Ten minutes after the break, Ivor Allchurch scored the equaliser, before Terry Medwin scored the winner with just under a quarter of an hour left to play. The result meant Wales qualified for the quarter - finals, where they would play against the winners of Group 4, Brazil. Having impressed in Brazil 's last group match against the Soviet Union, a 17 - year - old Pelé again started against Wales ; however, it took almost three - quarters of the match for Brazil to break through the Welsh defence, as Pelé 's flick took him past Mel Charles and he toe - poked home the only goal of the game. Pelé went on to score a further five goals in the tournament, including a hat - trick in the 5 -- 2 win over France in the semi-finals, and two more in another 5 -- 2 win over Sweden in the final as Brazil won the tournament for the first time. Wales squad -- 1958 FIFA World Cup 1 Kelsey 2 Williams 3 Hopkins 4 Sullivan 5 M. Charles 6 Bowen ( c ) 7 Medwin 8 Hewitt 9 J. Charles 10 I. Allchurch 11 C. Jones 12 K. Jones 13 Vearncombe 14 Edwards 15 C. Baker 16 Crowe 17 Leek 18 Vernon 19 Webster 20 Elsworthy 21 L. Allchurch 22 G. Baker Coach : Murphy Group 3 Team Pld GF GA GAv Pts Sweden 0 5 5.00 5 Wales 0 0 1.00 Hungary 6 2.00 Mexico 0 8 0.13 Hungary v Wales 8 June 1958 Group 3 Hungary 1 -- 1 Wales show Sandviken 19 : 00 ( CET ) Bozsik 5 ' Report J. Charles 27 ' Stadium : Jernvallen Attendance : 20,000 Referee : Edgardo Codesal ( Uruguay ) Mexico v Wales 11 June 1958 Group 3 Mexico 1 -- 1 Wales show Solna 19 : 00 ( CET ) Belmonte 89 ' Report I. Allchurch 32 ' Stadium : Råsunda Stadium Attendance : 25,000 Referee : Leo Lemešić ( Yugoslavia ) Sweden v Wales 15 June 1958 Group 3 Sweden 0 -- 0 Wales show Solna 14 : 00 ( CET ) Report Stadium : Råsunda Stadium Attendance : 35,000 Referee : Lucien Van Nuffel ( Belgium ) Play - off Wales v Hungary 17 June 1958 Group 3 play - off Wales 2 -- 1 Hungary show Solna 19 : 00 ( CET ) I. Allchurch 55 ' Medwin 76 ' Report Tichy 33 ' Stadium : Råsunda Stadium Attendance : 20,000 Referee : Nikolay Latyshev ( Soviet Union ) Quarter - finals Brazil v Wales 19 June 1958 Quarter - finals Brazil 1 -- 0 Wales show Gothenburg 19 : 00 ( CET ) Pelé 66 ' Report Stadium : Ullevi Attendance : 25,000 Referee : Friedrich Seipelt ( Austria ) Chile 1962 In qualifying for the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, Wales were drawn in Group 9 with Austria, Denmark and Spain. The group was split into two rounds, with Wales and Austria -- as the two nations that had qualified for the 1958 World Cup -- receiving a bye to the second round. Denmark withdrew from the qualifying process before any matches were played, so Spain advanced to the second round. Austria then also withdrew, leaving Wales and Spain to play off over two legs to determine who would advance. The first leg in Cardiff on 19 April 1961 saw Wales take an early lead through Phil Woosnam after seven minutes, only for Alfonso Rodríguez Salas to level the scores midway through the first half, before Alfredo Di Stéfano scored the winner for Spain with 12 minutes left in the game. The return leg was played in Madrid a month later with Wales needing to win by a two - goal margin to surpass Spain. After a goalless first half, Joaquín Peiró opened the scoring in the 55th minute ; Ivor Allchurch scored one of the three goals Wales now required, but they were unable to find the other two and were eliminated. Record at the FIFA World Cup Year Round Position GP D * GF GA 1930 Did not enter 1934 1938 1950 Did not qualify 1954 1958 Quarter - finals 5th 5 1962 Did not qualify 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 2022 To be determined 2026 Total 1 / 21 -- 5 * Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks By match World Cup Round Opponent Score Result Venue Scorers 1958 Group stage Hungary 1 -- 1 Sandviken J. Charles Mexico 1 -- 1 Solna I. Allchurch Sweden 0 -- 0 Solna & -- Hungary 2 -- 1 Solna I. Allchurch, Medwin Quarter - finals Brazil 0 -- 1 Gothenburg & -- Record by opponent FIFA World Cup matches ( by team ) Opponent Wins Draws Losses Total Goals scored Goals conceded Brazil 0 0 0 Hungary 0 Mexico 0 0 Sweden 0 0 0 0 Statistics Most appearances Seven players appeared in all five of Wales ' matches at the 1958 World Cup. One of them is Mel Charles, whose older brother John also played four matches in the tournament. No. Name Matches World Cups Ivor Allchurch 5 1958 Dave Bowen 5 1958 Mel Charles 5 1958 Mel Hopkins 5 1958 Cliff Jones 5 1958 Jack Kelsey 5 1958 Stuart Williams 5 1958 8 John Charles 1958 Terry Medwin 1958 Derrick Sullivan 1958 Top goalscorers No. Name Goals World Cups Ivor Allchurch 1958 John Charles 1958 Terry Medwin 1958 References Jump up ^ `` Burley move pays off for Scotland ''. CNN. 28 September 1998. Retrieved 12 April 2007. Jump up ^ `` British Society of Sports History ''. FIFA. 19 August 1999. Archived from the original on 4 September 2005. Retrieved 31 May 2007. Jump up ^ `` Between the Wars ''. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 30 May 2007. ^ Jump up to : Stokkermans, Karel ( 26 July 2012 ). `` Lucky Losers ''. www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ Doyle, Paul ( 13 November 2015 ). `` The Joy of Six : international football play - offs ''. The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 6 July 2018. Jump up ^ Roberts, John ( 27 January 2008 ). `` United in grief - and in hope ''. The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 6 July 2018. External links FIFA Official Ranking of all Participants at Finals 1930 -- 2002. FIFA Match Results for all Stages 1930 -- 2002 Wales national football team General Football Association of Wales Managers Welsh Football Trust Dragon Park, Wales National Football Development Centre Venues Home venues Cardiff City Stadium Aberdare Athletic Ground Anfield Liberty Stadium Millennium Stadium Ninian Park Old Racecourse Ground Parc y Scarlets Penrhyn Park Racecourse Ground St. Helen 's The Arms Park The National Stadium The Oval Vetch Field Statistics Results and Fixtures Records European Championship record Word Cup record Hat - tricks Players Alphabetical 25 + caps World Cup & Euro Championship squads Born outside Wales Other categories World Cup 1958 European Championship 2016 Other tournaments British Home Championship ( 1884 -- 1984 ) Nations Cup ( 2011 ) Other FAW teams Men Amateur ( defunct ) Under - 21 Under - 20 Under - 19 Under - 17 Semi-Pro Women Countries at the FIFA World Cup Team appearances Teams with no appearances All - time table AFC Australia China Indonesia Iran Iraq Japan Kuwait North Korea Saudi Arabia South Korea United Arab Emirates CAF Algeria Angola Cameroon DR Congo Egypt Ghana Ivory Coast Morocco Nigeria Senegal South Africa Togo Tunisia CONCACAF Canada Costa Rica Cuba El Salvador Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Panama Trinidad and Tobago United States CONMEBOL Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Uruguay OFC New Zealand UEFA Austria Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark East Germany England France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Israel Italy Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Russia Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under another name ( s ). Have been member of multiple confederations. Team and national federation no longer exist. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wales_at_the_FIFA_World_Cup&oldid=855048731 '' Categories : Countries at the FIFA World Cup Wales national football team Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Edit links This page was last edited on 15 August 2018, at 15 : 37 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when was the last time wales were in the world cup
Answer: 1958