They also progressed through UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying to the quarter-finals, though this was played on a two-legged, home-and-away basis and is not considered part of the finals tournament.

Wales played its first competitive match on 25 March 1876 against Scotland in Glasgow, making it the third-oldest international football team in the world.

Having finished second to Czechoslovakia in qualifying Group 4, the golden generation of Welsh football managed by Jimmy Murphy seemed to have missed out on qualification, but the politics of the Middle East subsequently intervened.

[8] Having defeated Israel 2–0 at the Ramat Gan Stadium and 2–0 at Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales went through to a World Cup finals tournament for the first time.

This helped to give Wales a share of the Home Championship trophy for the year, goal difference not at that stage being used to determine an outright winner.

In 1976, the team – managed by Mike Smith – reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA European Championship, having finished top of qualifying Group 2 ahead of Hungary, Austria and Luxembourg, but this was not considered part of the finals.

Prior to 1980, only four countries qualified for the finals tournament, and Wales were drawn to play against the winners of Group 3 – Yugoslavia – in a two-legged, home-and-away tie.

A few weeks earlier, Wales achieved another noted victory against then European Champions Czechoslovakia with Nick Deacy and James again scoring.

They were seconds away from qualification when a winning goal by Ljubomir Radanović for Yugoslavia during injury time in the final game of qualifying group 4 against Bulgaria eliminated Wales.

But away defeats against Denmark and Czechoslovakia in the last two games in qualifying group 6 saw Mike England's eight-year reign as Welsh coach end in another disappointment.

Under coach Terry Yorath, Wales achieved a remarkable result on 5 June 1991 when defeating then world champions Germany in a Euro 1992 qualifier, thanks to a goal from Ian Rush.

Three months later, on 11 September 1991, Wales achieved a notable double by defeating Brazil for the only time in a friendly international, thanks to a goal from Dean Saunders.

However, victories for Germany in their three remaining matches in the group, including a 4–1 win in the return fixture against Wales, eliminated the Welsh.

Wales also made a strong showing in their qualifying group for the 1994 World Cup, achieving a noted victory at home to Belgium.

However, Toshack resigned after just one match (a 3–1 defeat to Norway) citing problems with the FAW as his reason for leaving, although he was sure to have been shocked at being booed off the pitch at Ninian Park by the Welsh fans still reeling from the dismissal of Yorath.

[13] Mike Smith took the manager role for the second time at the start of the Euro 1996 qualifiers, but Wales slipped to embarrassing defeats against Moldova and Georgia before Bobby Gould was appointed in June 1995.

His questionable tactics and public fallings-out with players Nathan Blake,[14] Robbie Savage[15] and Mark Hughes,[citation needed] coupled with embarrassing defeats to club side Leyton Orient and a 7–1 thrashing by the Netherlands in 1996 did not make him a popular figure within Wales.

However, the defeat was not without its controversy, as Russian midfielder Yegor Titov tested positive for the use of a banned substance after the first qualifying leg,[16] a scoreless draw in Moscow.

Notwithstanding, FIFA opted not to take action against the Football Union of Russia other than instructing them not to field Titov again, and the Russian team went on to defeat Wales 1–0 in Cardiff to qualify for the final tournament.

[citation needed] Following a disappointing start to the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, Hughes left his role with the national team to take over as manager of Premier League outfit Blackburn Rovers.

[citation needed] The match was a culmination of Speed's efforts which led Wales to receive the unofficial award for biggest mover of 2011 in the FIFA rankings.

[26] His tenure as manager ended in tragic circumstances two weeks later when he was found dead at his home on 27 November, having apparently committed suicide.

[27][28] Due to London's successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, a Great Britain team would qualify as of right of being the host nation.

[29] Despite this, Welsh players Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale expressed their interest in representing the Great Britain Olympic football team.

[37] In September 2015, England dropped to tenth in the FIFA rankings, making Wales – in ninth position – the highest-ranked British team for the first time in its history.

[43] In their round of 16 match at the Parc des Princes in Paris, Wales played Northern Ireland and won 1–0 after an own goal from Gareth McAuley.

In October 2022, the FAW announced it was considering rebranding the team to only use the Welsh name for the country, ditching the term "Wales", following the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The association said it was in discussions with UEFA over how to change the name, and were inspired by Turkey's rebrand to Türkiye and not being the last country alphabetically in some football events.

[80][81][82] The suggestion was stated by University of Limerick professor Owen Worth, to be an example of the connection between the team's supporters' clubs and pro-Welsh independence groups such as YesCymru and AUOB Cymru.

Qualifying matches continued to be played at the 74,500-capacity Millennium Stadium until the end of 2009, which was typically only around 20–40% full amid poor team results.