Wales first entered the European Championship in 1964, when it was still known as the European Nations' Cup, having declined to participate in the 1960 tournament. Three of the 29 teams that entered – Austria, Luxembourg and the Soviet Union – received byes to the round of 16, while the other 26 teams competed in the two-legged preliminary round for the other 13 places. Wales were drawn against Hungary in their first competitive meeting since the group stage of the 1958 FIFA World Cup. The first leg was played in November 1962 and saw Hungary win 3–1 at Népstadion in Budapest; Flórián Albert opened the scoring in the fifth minute, before Terry Medwin equalised for Wales just under a quarter of an hour later, only for goals from Lajos Tichy in the 34th minute and Károly Sándor in the 48th to give Hungary the win. The second leg was played four months later at Ninian Park in Cardiff, and Wales got themselves back into the tie when Cliff Jones converted a penalty midway through the first half; however, Tichy equalised from the penalty spot in the 77th minute and Hungary won the tie 4–2 on aggregate.