# Wales national football team results (1946–1959)

The Wales national football team represents Wales in international association football and is governed by the Football Association of Wales (FAW).

## Matches played

Between 1946 and 1959 the side played 64 matches. Although the majority of these came against the other national teams of the Home Nations in the British Home Championship, Wales also began playing teams from further afield on a regular basis for the first time. Their first competitive fixture following the end of the conflict was a 3–1 victory over Scotland in October 1946.
In 1949, Wales undertook their first European tour in which they played matches against Portugal, Belgium and Switzerland. Although Wales lost all three games, they won the reverse fixtures when all three nations travelled to Wales within the next two years. During the 1951–52 British Home Championship, Wales recorded their highest finish in the British Home Championship during the period by sharing the title with England.
The side also entered the FIFA World Cup for the first time in the 1950 tournament, but failed to qualify for either this or the following competition in which the Home Championship was used to determine the Home Nations qualifiers. The 1958 FIFA World Cup used a randomly drawn qualifying group and, although Wales finished second behind Czechoslovakia, they qualified winning a play-off match against Israel. In the tournament itself, Wales drew all three of their group matches and finished tied on points with Hungary. The two sides took part in a play-off match to determine who would advance to the quarter-final, which Wales won 2–1. Wales were defeated 1–0 by Brazil in the quarter-final. The 1958 tournament remains the only time Wales have qualified for a World Cup as of 2020.
Of the 64 matches Wales played during this period, they won 18. They recorded the most wins over Northern Ireland and their precursors Ireland, winning 5 of the 13 fixtures between the two. They also defeated Scotland three times, Israel and Portugal twice and had single victories over six other teams. They drew 14 ties and lost the remaining 32. Wales suffered the most defeats against England, losing 10 of the 14 fixtures between the two sides.

## Results

Wales' score is shown first in each case. The colours listed below are also used to signify results combined with the scoreline.
Key :
* Meaning
* Defeat
* Draw
* Win
Wales national football team results 1946–1959 :
| Match no. | Date | Venue | H/A/N | Opponents | Score | Competition | Wales scorers | Att. |
| 171 | 19 October 1946 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | H | Scotland | 3–1 | 1946–47 British Home Championship | Bryn Jones, Trevor Ford, Jimmy Stephen (og) | 29,568 |
| 172 | 13 November 1946 | Maine Road, Manchester | A | England | 0–3 | 1946–47 British Home Championship | | 59,250 |
| 173 | 9 March 1947 | Windsor Park, Belfast | A | Ireland | 1–2 | 1946–47 British Home Championship | Trevor Ford | 43,000 |
| 174 | 18 October 1947 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | England | 0–3 | 1947–48 British Home Championship | | 55,000 |
| 175 | 12 November 1947 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | A | Scotland | 2–1 | 1947–48 British Home Championship | Trevor Ford, George Lowrie | 88,000 |
| 176 | 10 March 1948 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | H | Ireland | 2–0 | 1947–48 British Home Championship | George Lowrie, George Edwards | 32,310 |
| 177 | 23 October 1948 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | Scotland | 1–3 | 1948–49 British Home Championship | Bryn Jones | 59,911 |
| 178 | 10 November 1948 | Villa Park, Birmingham | A | England | 0–1 | 1948–49 British Home Championship | | 68,750 |
| 179 | 10 March 1949 | Windsor Park, Belfast | A | Ireland | 2–0 | 1948–49 British Home Championship | George Edwards, Trevor Ford | 22,800 |
| 180 | 15 May 1949 | Estádio Nacional, Lisbon | A | Portugal | 2–3 | Friendly | Trevor Ford (2) | 51,000 |
| 181 | 23 May 1949 | Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège | A | Belgium | 1–3 | Friendly | Trevor Ford | 19,079 |
| 182 | 26 May 1949 | Wankdorf Stadium, Bern | A | Switzerland | 0–4 | Friendly | | 18,000 |
| 183 | 15 October 1949 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | England | 1–4 | 1949–50 British Home Championship | Mal Griffiths | 61,000 |
| 184 | 9 November 1949 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | A | Scotland | 0–2 | 1949–50 British Home Championship | | 73,782 |
| 185 | 23 November 1949 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | Belgium | 5–1 | Friendly | Trevor Ford (3), Roy Paul, Roy Clarke | 27,988 |
| 186 | 8 March 1950 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | H | Ireland | 0–0 | 1949–50 British Home Championship | | 30,000 |
| 187 | 21 October 1950 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | Scotland | 1–3 | 1950–51 British Home Championship | Aubrey Powell | 60,000 |
| 188 | 15 November 1950 | Roker Park, Sunderland | A | England | 2–4 | 1950–51 British Home Championship | Trevor Ford (2) | 50,250 |
| 189 | 7 March 1951 | Windsor Park, Belfast | A | Ireland | 2–1 | 1950–51 British Home Championship | Roy Clarke (2) | 12,000 |
| 190 | 12 May 1951 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | Portugal | 2–1 | Friendly | Trevor Ford, Mal Griffiths | 51,000 |
| 191 | 16 May 1951 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | H | Switzerland | 3–2 | Friendly | Trevor Ford (2), Ron Burgess | 18,500 |
| 192 | 20 October 1951 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | England | 1–1 | 1951–52 British Home Championship | Billy Foulkes | 51,500 |
| 193 | 14 November 1951 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | A | Scotland | 1–0 | 1951–52 British Home Championship | Ivor Allchurch | 50,250 |
| 194 | 19 March 1952 | Vetch Field, Swansea | H | Ireland | 3–0 | 1951–52 British Home Championship | Walley Barnes, Ivor Allchurch, Roy Clarke | 30,000 |
| 195 | 18 October 1952 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | Scotland | 1–2 | 1952–53 British Home Championship | Trevor Ford | 60,261 |
| 196 | 12 November 1952 | Wembley Stadium, London | A | England | 2–5 | 1952–53 British Home Championship | Trevor Ford (2) | 93,500 |
| 197 | 15 April 1953 | Windsor Park, Belfast | A | Ireland | 3–2 | 1952–53 British Home Championship | John Charles (2), Trevor Ford | 33,000 |
| 198 | 14 May 1953 | Parc des Princes, Paris | A | France | 1–6 | Friendly | Ivor Allchurch | 33,020 |
| 199 | 21 May 1953 | JNA Stadium, Belgrade | A | Yugoslavia | 2–5 | Friendly | Trevor Ford (2) | 50,000 |
| 200 | 10 October 1953 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | England | 1–4 | 1953–54 British Home Championship | Ivor Allchurch | 61,000 |
| 201 | 4 November 1953 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | A | Scotland | 3–3 | 1953–54 British Home Championship | John Charles (2), Ivor Allchurch | 71,378 |
| 202 | 31 March 1954 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | H | Northern Ireland | 1–2 | 1953–54 British Home Championship | John Charles | 32,817 |
| 203 | 9 May 1954 | Praterstadion, Vienna | A | Austria | 0–2 | Friendly | | 58,000 |
| 204 | 22 September 1954 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | Yugoslavia | 1–3 | Friendly | Ivor Allchurch | 20,000 |
| 205 | 16 October 1954 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | Scotland | 0–1 | 1954–55 British Home Championship | | 53,000 |
| 206 | 10 November 1954 | Wembley Stadium, London | A | England | 2–3 | 1954–55 British Home Championship | John Charles (2) | 89,789 |
| 207 | 20 April 1955 | Windsor Park, Belfast | A | Northern Ireland | 3–2 | 1954–55 British Home Championship | John Charles (3) | 28,000 |
| 208 | 22 October 1955 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | England | 2–1 | 1955–56 British Home Championship | Derek Tapscott, Cliff Jones | 60,000 |
| 209 | 9 November 1955 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | A | Scotland | 0–2 | 1955–56 British Home Championship | | 53,887 |
| 210 | 23 November 1955 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | H | Austria | 1–2 | Friendly | Derek Tapscott | 39,000 |
| 211 | 11 April 1956 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | Northern Ireland | 1–1 | 1955–56 British Home Championship | Roy Clarke | 37,510 |
| 212 | 20 October 1956 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | Scotland | 2–2 | 1956–57 British Home Championship | Trevor Ford, Terry Medwin | 60,000 |
| 213 | 14 November 1956 | Wembley Stadium, London | A | England | 1–3 | 1956–57 British Home Championship | John Charles | 93,796 |
| 214 | 10 April 1957 | Windsor Park, Belfast | A | Northern Ireland | 0–0 | 1956–57 British Home Championship | | 30,000 |
| 215 | 1 May 1957 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | Czechoslovakia | 1–0 | 1958 FIFA World Cup Qualification | Roy Vernon | 33,320 |
| 216 | 19 May 1957 | Zentralstadion, Leipzig | A | East Germany | 1–2 | 1958 FIFA World Cup Qualification | Mel Charles | 100,000 |
| 217 | 26 May 1957 | Stadion Letná, Prague | A | Czechoslovakia | 0–2 | 1958 FIFA World Cup Qualification | | 45,000 |
| 218 | 25 September 1957 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | East Germany | 4–1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup Qualification | Des Palmer (3), Cliff Jones | 16,098 |
| 219 | 19 October 1957 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | England | 0–4 | 1957–58 British Home Championship | | 58,000 |
| 220 | 13 November 1957 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | A | Scotland | 1–1 | 1957–58 British Home Championship | Terry Medwin | 42,918 |
| 221 | 15 January 1958 | Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan | A | Israel | 2–0 | 1958 FIFA World Cup Play-Off | Len Allchurch, Dave Bowen | 55,000 |
| 222 | 5 February 1958 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | Israel | 2–0 | 1958 FIFA World Cup Play-Off | Ivor Allchurch, Cliff Jones | 38,000 |
| 223 | 16 April 1958 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | Northern Ireland | 1–1 | 1957–58 British Home Championship | Ron Hewitt | 25,667 |
| 224 | 8 June 1958 | Jernvallen, Sandviken | N | Hungary | 1–1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup | John Charles | 20,000 |
| 225 | 11 June 1958 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna | N | Mexico | 1–1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup | Ivor Allchurch | 25,000 |
| 226 | 15 June 1958 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna | A | Sweden | 0–0 | 1958 FIFA World Cup | | 35,000 |
| 227 | 17 June 1958 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna | N | Hungary | 2–1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup | Ivor Allchurch, Terry Medwin | 20,000 |
| 228 | 19 June 1958 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna | N | Brazil | 0–1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup | | 25,000 |
| 229 | 18 October 1958 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | Scotland | 0–3 | 1958–59 British Home Championship | | 59,162 |
| 230 | 26 November 1958 | Villa Park, Birmingham | A | England | 2–2 | 1958–59 British Home Championship | Derek Tapscott, Ivor Allchurch | 40,500 |
| 231 | 22 April 1959 | Windsor Park, Belfast | A | Northern Ireland | 1–4 | 1958–59 British Home Championship | Derek Tapscott | 45,000 |
| 232 | 17 October 1959 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | H | England | 1–1 | 1959–60 British Home Championship | Graham Moore | 60,000 |
| 233 | 4 November 1959 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | A | Scotland | 1–1 | 1959–60 British Home Championship | John Charles | 55,813 |

## Head to head records

Head to head records :
| Opponent | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | W% | D% | L% |
| Austria | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Belgium | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 50 | 0 | 50 |
| Brazil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Czechoslovakia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 50 | 0 | 50 |
| East Germany | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 50 | 0 | 50 |
| England | 14 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 39 | 7 | 21 | 71 |
| France | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Hungary | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 50 | 50 | 0 |
| Ireland | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 25 | 50 |
| Israel | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Mexico | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
| Northern Ireland | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 13 | 44 | 33 | 22 |
| Portugal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 | 0 | 33 |
| Scotland | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 25 | 21 | 29 | 50 |
| Sweden | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
| Switzerland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 50 | 0 | 50 |
| Yugoslavia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Totals | 64 | 18 | 14 | 32 | 78 | 121 | 28.13 | 21.88 | 50 |