João Félix leads Portugal past Wales, Ronaldo unused
Jorge Jesus benched Cristiano Ronaldo for the entire match as João Félix's second-half goal secured Portugal's win over Wales in the Nations League.
Swimming national side
Wales
National team · United Kingdom
«The Red Dragons»
72
Matches
26
wins
24
draws
22
losses
88–83
Goals
+5
Difference
1.2
Scored per game
Form
D
26 Mar · Home Bosnia & Herzegovina · 1:1
D
31 Mar · Home Northern Ireland · 1:1
D
2 Jun · Home Ghana · 1:1
L
6 Jun · Away Romania · 1:2
L
24 Sep · Away Portugal · 0:1
L
27 Sep · Away Denmark · 0:2
Craig Bellamy took charge in 2024. The immediate job is straightforward and unglamorous: turn qualifying campaigns into tournament football again.
The Football Association of Wales was formed on 2 February 1876 at the Wynnstay Arms Hotel in Wrexham, and the team it runs took the field for the first time weeks later, in Glasgow, and lost 4–0 to Scotland. That makes Wales the third-oldest national side in the world.
For most of the twentieth century the team's business was the British Home Championship, won outright seven times and shared a further five. The 1958 World Cup run to the quarter-finals stood alone as the high point for decades.
Then came 2016. Chris Coleman took a team missing a permanent home-tournament pedigree to the semi-finals of the European Championship in France. Rob Page followed Ryan Giggs and took Wales to a first World Cup since 1958, in Qatar in 2022.
Home games are played in front of just over 33,000 at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Latest results
Fixtures and results| 27 Sep | UEFA Nations League |
Denmark
A
|
0:2 | L |
| 24 Sep | UEFA Nations League |
Portugal
A
|
0:1 | L |
| 6 Jun | Friendlies |
Romania
A
|
1:2 | L |
| 2 Jun | Friendlies |
Ghana
H
|
1:1 | D |
| 31 Mar | Friendlies |
Northern Ireland
H
|
1:1 | D |
| 26 Mar | World Cup - Qualification Europe |
Bosnia & Herzegovina
H
|
1:1 | D |
Standing
UEFA Nations LeagueGroup stage · Group 4
| # | Team | M | W | L | Goals | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Portugal
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 3:1 | 6 |
| 2 |
 Norway
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 4:4 | 3 |
| 3 |
Denmark
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 4:3 | 3 |
| 4 |
 Wales
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0:3 | 0 |
Team statistics
matches counted in total: 72
72
Matches
26
wins
24
draws
22
losses
88–83
Goals
+5
Difference
1.2
Scored per game
wins
losses
scored — above the line
conceded — below the line
| Metric | Total | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 72 | 39 | 33 |
| Scored | 88 | 57 | 31 |
| Conceded | 83 | 37 | 46 |
| Scored per game | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| Conceded per game | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.4 |
| Difference | +5 | +20 | −15 |
Key players
by appearances over the last yearSquad of Wales
by appearances over the last year| Number | Player | Position | Age | Matches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 |  Rhys Llewelyn Norrington-Davies |
Defender | 27 | 4 | |
| 9 | |
 Lewis Koumas |
Forward | 21 | 4 |
| 22 |  Josh Sheehan |
Midfielder | 31 | 4 | |
| 19 | |
 Sorba Thomas |
Midfielder | 27 | 4 |
| 12 |  Danny Ward |
Goalkeeper | 4 | ||
| 20 |  Daniel Owen James |
Midfielder | 4 | ||
| 3 |  Neco Williams |
Defender | 4 | ||
| 5 |  Ethan Ampadu |
Midfielder | 4 | ||
| 15 |  Jay Rhys Dasilva |
Defender | 4 | ||
| 11 |  Brennan Johnson |
Midfielder | 4 | ||
| 21 |  Tom King |
Goalkeeper | 4 | ||
| 17 |  Jordan James |
Midfielder | 3 | ||
| 2 | |
 Chris Mepham |
Defender | 28 | 3 |
| 6 | |
 Benjamin George Cabango |
Defender | 26 | 3 |
| 18 | |
 Mark Thomas Harris |
Forward | 27 | 3 |
| 13 |  Kieffer Moore |
Forward | 3 | ||
| 10 |  Liam Jamie Cullen |
Forward | 27 | 3 | |
| 4 |  Benjamin Thomas Davies |
Defender | 3 | ||
| 14 |  Connor Roberts |
Defender | 3 | ||
| 7 |  David Brooks |
Forward | 3 | ||
| 23 | |
 J. Colville |
Midfielder | 24 | 3 |
| 8 |  Wesley James Burns |
Forward | 31 | 2 | |
| 23 |  Cameron Congreve |
Midfielder | 2 | ||
| 1 |  David Cornell |
Goalkeeper | 2 | ||
| 23 |  Nathan Paul Broadhead |
Midfielder | 2 | ||
| 6 |  Joe Rodon |
Defender | 2 | ||
| 1 |  Karl Darlow |
Goalkeeper | 2 | ||
| 17 | |
 Ronan Kpakio |
Defender | 19 | 2 |
| 7 |  Charlie William Henry Savage |
Midfielder | 1 | ||
| 25 |  Oliver Bostock |
Forward | 1 | ||
| 10 |  Kai Andrews |
Defender | 1 | ||
| 24 |  Isaak James Davies |
Forward | 25 | 1 | |
| 8 |  Harry Wilson |
Midfielder | 1 | ||
| 4 |  D. Lowor |
Defender | 1 |
Fixtures of Wales
-
27 Sep
Denmark
A
0:2
L
-
24 Sep
Portugal
A
0:1
L
-
6 Jun
Romania
A
1:2
L
-
2 Jun
Ghana
H
1:1
D
-
31 Mar
Northern Ireland
H
1:1
D
-
26 Mar
Bosnia & Herzegovina
H
1:1
D
-
18 Nov
North Macedonia
H
7:1
W
-
15 Nov
Liechtenstein
A
1:0
W
Honours of Wales
- British Home Championship 1907, 1921, 1924, 1928, 1933, 1934, 1937 7
- British Home Championship (shared) 1939, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1970 5
- FIFA World Cup 1958 1
- China Cup 2018 1
- UEFA European Championship 2016 1
Team news
Tuchel: Lewis Hall Injury Scare Kept Him Out vs Spain
Thomas Tuchel explains why Lewis Hall was benched in England's 3-2 loss to Spain, as Nico O'Reilly struggled deputising against Lamine Yamal at Wembley.
Patrick Dorgu forced off for Denmark against Wales
The Man Utd defender limped off after 30 minutes in Copenhagen, adding to a growing injury list at Old Trafford ahead of a tough run of fixtures.
Bruno Fernandes ruled out of Norway clash
Portugal captain Bruno Fernandes will sit out Sunday's Nations League match with Norway after struggling with a lingering injury against Wales.
Ronaldo frustrated as Portugal edge Wales in Nations League
Cristiano Ronaldo missed a chance and saw a goal ruled out as Portugal beat Wales 1-0 thanks to João Félix's strike in the 22nd minute.
Haaland scores twice as Norway beat Denmark
Erling Haaland scored twice to lead Norway to a 3-2 victory over Denmark in their UEFA Nations League opener at Ullevaal Stadion.
Klopp denied debut win as Gakpo strikes late for Netherlands
Jurgen Klopp's first game in charge of Germany ended in a 1-1 draw after Cody Gakpo struck a late equaliser for the Netherlands. Felix Nmecha had put the visitors in front, but Gakpo's stoppage-time volley prevented a perfect start for Klopp.
Cristiano Ronaldo Stays With Portugal, Targets 1,000 Goals
Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, considered quitting Portugal after the World Cup but stays, aiming for 1,000 career goals and a Nations League title, he said.