Wales women's national football team

Wales
Nickname(s)	The Dragons (Welsh: Y Dreigiau)
Association	Football Association of Wales (FAW)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Gemma Grainger
Captain	Sophie Ingle
Most caps	Jess Fishlock (136)
Top scorer	Helen Ward (44)
FIFA code	WAL
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	32 3 (15 December 2023)
Highest	29 (June–December 2018; August 2023)
Lowest	57 (June 2005; May 2006)
First international
	Wales 2–3 Republic of Ireland ; (Llanelli, Wales; 13 May 1973)
Biggest win
	Wales 15–0 Azerbaijan ; (Newtown, Powys, Wales; 21 August 2010)
Biggest defeat
	Germany 12–0 Wales ; (Bielefeld, Germany, 31 March 1994); Wales 0–12 Germany ; (Swansea, Wales, 5 May 1994)
World Cup
Appearances	0
European Championship
Appearances	0
Website	www.faw.cymru/en/

The Wales national women's football team (Welsh: Tîm pêl-droed merched cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales and the third-oldest national football association in the world, founded in 1876 (1876).

The team has never qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup or the UEFA European Women's Championship. They most recently came the closest they ever have to qualifying for their first ever FIFA Women's World Cup going all the way to the FIFA Women's World Cup UEFA play-off final before falling to a 2–1 defeat at the fate of an opposition last minute winner in extra time against the Switzerland women's national football team.^[3]

All of Welsh women's football clubs play in the Welsh women's football league system.^[4] Wales, as a country of the United Kingdom, is not a member of the International Olympic Committee and therefore the national team does not compete in the Olympic Games.

Team image

Media coverage

Live television broadcast rights are held by BBC Cymru Wales (Welsh & English language commentary) until 2027.

Colours and logo

The primary kit has long been all-red. The crest of the Football Association of Wales features a rampant Welsh Dragon on a white shield. From 1920, the shield was surrounded by a red border, and the letters 'FAW' were added in 1926. The badge was redesigned in 1951, adding a green border with 11 daffodils, as well as the Welsh-language motto Gorau Chwarae Cyd Chwarae ("The best play is team play"). The motto was briefly removed in 1984, but the badge stayed largely the same until 2010, when the shield was changed to feature rounded sides and the motto banner was changed from white to red and green. The dragon also changed from rampant to rampant regardant. The motto was removed again in 2019, following another major redesign of the badge, which saw the top of the shield flattened and the sides changed not to curve outwards; the green border was also thinned and the daffodils removed.^[5]

Kit supplier

Kit provider	Period
Umbro	1996
Lotto	1996–2000
Kappa	2000–2008
Champion	2008–2010
Umbro	2010–2013
Adidas	2013–

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

Win Draw Lose Fixture

2023

15 February 2023 Pinatar Cup	Wales	1–0	Philippines	San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
19:30 UTC+1	Green 45+1' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Pinatar Arena Referee: Lucie Šulcová (Czech Republic)

18 February 2023 Pinatar Cup	Wales	0–0	Iceland	San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
19:30 UTC+1		Report		Stadium: Pinatar Arena Referee: Lucie Šulcová (Czech Republic)

21 February 2023 Pinatar Cup	Scotland	1–1	Wales	San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
14:05 UTC+1	Howard 8'	Report	Holland 42'	Stadium: Pinatar Arena Referee: Lucie Šulcová (Czech Republic)

6 April Friendly	Wales	4–1	Northern Ireland	Cardiff
19:15 UTC±0	Fishlock 16' James 25' Cain 30' Rowe 64'	Report	Wade 73'	Stadium: Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 6,831 Referee: Stacey Pearson

11 April Friendly	Portugal	1–1	Wales	Guimarães, Portugal
19:15 UTC+1	Telma 50'	Report	Rowe 73'	Stadium: Estádio D. Afonso Henriques Attendance: 11,055 Referee: Deborah Anex

9 July Friendly	United States	2–0	Wales	San Jose, California
16:00 ET	Rodman 76', 87'	Report		Stadium: PayPal Park Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Karen Hernandez (Mexico)

22 September 2023–24 UEFA Nations League	Iceland	1–0	Wales	Reykjavík
20:00 (18:00 WET)	Viggósdóttir 18'	Report		Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur, Referee: Katalin Kulcsár (Hungary)

26 September 2023–24 Nations League	Wales	1–5	Denmark	Cardiff, Wales
19:15 UTC+1	Fishlock 51'	Report	Harder 6' (pen.), 11', 90+1' Thøgersen 60' Troelsgaard 87'	Stadium: Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 8,607 Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France)

27 October 2023–24 Nations League	Germany	5–1	Wales	Sinsheim
17:45	Schüller 25', 47' Gwinn 80' (pen.) Nüsken 86' Anyomi 88'	Report	Holland 42'	Stadium: Rhein-Neckar-Arena Attendance: 20,107 Referee: Monika Mularczyk (Poland)

31 October 2023–24 Nations League	Denmark	2–1	Wales	Viborg, Denmark
18:00	Vangsgaard 28' Bredgaard 38'	Report	Fishlock 72'	Stadium: Viborg Stadium Attendance: 2,227 Referee: Sandra Braz (Portugal)

1 December 2023–24 Nations League

Wales

1–2

Iceland

5 December 2023–24 Nations League	Wales	0–0	Germany	Swansea
20:15		Report		Stadium: Swansea Stadium

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

As of 30 March 2023.

Position	Name
Manager	Gemma Grainger
Assistant coach	Jon Grey
Goalkeeper coach	Jen Herst
Head of physical performance	Luke Taylor

Manager history

Sylvia Gore (1979–1989)^[6]
Sue Lopez (1995–1996)
Roy Thomas (1996–2000)^[7]^[8]
Sian Williams (2000–2003)
Andy Beattie (2003–2007)
Adrian Tucker (2007–2010)^[9]
Jarmo Matikainen (2010–2014)^[10]^[11]
Jayne Ludlow (2014–2021)^[12]^[13]
Gemma Grainger (2021–2024)^[14]

Players

Current squad

The following 26 players were named to the squad for the UEFA Women's Nations League matches against Iceland and Germany on 1 and 5 December 2023, respectively.^[15]
Caps and goals updated as of the game against Slovenia on 6 September 2022.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Laura O'Sullivan	(1991-08-23) 23 August 1991	55	0	Cardiff City Ladies
1GK	Olivia Clark	(2001-08-30) 30 August 2001	8	0	Watford
1GK	Safia Middleton-Patel	(2004-09-21) 21 September 2004	0	0	Manchester United

2DF	Sophie Ingle (captain)	(1991-09-02) 2 September 1991	120	3	Chelsea
2DF	Hayley Ladd	(1993-10-06) 6 October 1993	82	2	Manchester United
2DF	Rhiannon Roberts	(1990-08-30) 30 August 1990	56	2	Real Betis
2DF	Gemma Evans	(1996-08-01) 1 August 1996	45	1	Manchester United
2DF	Ffion Morgan	(2000-05-11) 11 May 2000	19	0	Bristol City
2DF	Lily Woodham	(2000-09-03) 3 September 2000	10	1	Reading
2DF	Esther Morgan	(2002-08-28) 28 August 2002	6	0	Heart of Midlothian

3MF	Jess Fishlock	(1987-01-14) 14 January 1987	134	34	Seattle Reign FC
3MF	Angharad James	(1994-06-01) 1 June 1994	100	4	Tottenham Hotspur
3MF	Charlie Estcourt	(1998-05-27) 27 May 1998	34	3	Reading
3MF	Josie Green	(1993-04-25) 25 April 1993	23	0	Leicester City
3MF	Ceri Holland	(1997-12-12) 12 December 1997	22	4	Liverpool
3MF	Carrie Jones	(2003-09-04) 4 September 2003	20	2	Bristol City
3MF	Anna Filbey	(1999-10-11) 11 October 1999	7	0	Crystal Palace
3MF	Alice Griffiths	(2001-01-22) 22 January 2001	6	0	Southampton
3MF	Morgan Rogers	(2002-07-16) 16 July 2002	0	0	Billericay Town
3MF	Ellen Jones	(2002-01-10) 10 January 2002			Sunderland

4FW	Kayleigh Green	(1988-03-22) 22 March 1988	65	16	Charlton Athletic
4FW	Rachel Rowe	(1992-09-13) 13 September 1992	49	3	Rangers
4FW	Elise Hughes	(2001-04-15) 15 April 2001	14	0	Crystal Palace
4FW	Ella Powell	(2000-02-01) 1 February 2000	3	0	Bristol City
4FW	Mary McAteer	(2004-01-02) 2 January 2004	0	0	Sunderland
4FW	Hannah Cain	(1999-02-11) 11 February 1999			Leicester City

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for a Wales squad in the last 12 months.
This information may be incomplete or incorrect.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Bethan Davies	(1997-09-17) 17 September 1997			Sheffield United	2023 Pinatar Cup

DF	Maria Francis-Jones	(2003-04-01) 1 April 2003	0	0	Burnley	2023 Pinatar Cup

MF	Megan Wynne	(1993-01-21) 21 January 1993	19	1	Southampton	v. Denmark, 31 October 2023
MF	Josie Longhurst	(2002-02-24) 24 February 2002			Reading	v. Denmark, 31 October 2023
MF	Chloe Williams	(2000-12-22) 22 December 2000	1	0	Blackburn Rovers	v. Denmark, 26 September 2023

FW	Lauren Thomas	(2000-01-10) 10 January 2000	0	0	Blackburn Rovers	v. Denmark, 26 September 2023
FW	Georgia Walters	(1993-04-06) 6 April 1993	5	0	Blackburn Rovers	v. Portugal, 11 April 2023
FW	Helen Ward	(1986-04-26) 26 April 1986	102	44	Retired	2023 Pinatar Cup

Notes:

PRE = Preliminary squad

Captains

Jayne Ludlow (−2012)
Jess Fishlock (2012–2015)^[16]
Sophie Ingle (2015–)

Records

*Active players in bold, statistics correct as of September 2022.

Most capped players

#	Player	Year(s)	Caps
1	Jess Fishlock	2006–	134
2	Sophie Ingle	2009–	120
3	Loren Dykes	2007–2021^[17]	105
4	Tash Harding	2008–	103
5	Helen Ward	2008–	102
6	Angharad James	2011–	100

Top goalscorers

#	Player	Year(s)	Goals	Caps
1	Helen Ward	2008–	44	102

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA World Cup record									Qualification record						FIFA World Cup qualification play-offs record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1991	did not enter								UEFA EURO 1991
1995	did not qualify								UEFA EURO 1995
1999									6	0	2	4	7	21
2003									6	0	1	5	2	13
2007									6	4	2	0	17	2
2011									8	3	0	5	23	16
2015									10	6	1	3	18	9
2019									8	5	2	1	7	4
2023									10	6	2	2	22	5	2	1	0	1	2	2
2027	to be determined								to be determined						to be determined
Total	0/10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	54	24	10	20	96	70	2	1	0	1	2	2

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Championship

Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA
UEFA Women's Championship record								Qualifying record
1984	did not enter							did not enter
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995	did not qualify							6	0	0	6	5	36
1997								8	2	1	5	9	15
2001								6	0	2	4	3	16
2005	Withdrew							Withdrew
2009	did not qualify							11	3	0	8	11	21
2013								8	3	1	4	12	14
2017								8	3	2	3	13	11
2022								8	4	2	2	16	4
2025	to be determined							to be determined
Total	0/14	-	-	-	-	-	-	55	15	8	32	69	117

*Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty kicks.

European Competition for Women's Football (Unofficial)

1979 : Group Stage^[18]

Algarve Cup

The Algarve Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's soccer hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious women's football events, alongside the Women's World Cup and Women's Olympic Football.

Algarve Cup record
Year	Result	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	GF	GA
1994 to 2001	did not enter
2002	12th	4	1	0	3	1	9
2003	12th	4	0	2	2	4	8
2004	10th	4	2	0	2	6	8
2005 to 2008	did not enter
2009	12th	4	1	0	3	8	6
2010	did not enter
2011	8th	4	2	0	2	6	7
2012	8th	4	2	1	1	3	4
2013	12th	4	1	2	1	3	4
2014 to 2022	did not enter
Total	8/26	28	9	5	14	31	47

Other tournaments

Year	Result	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	GF	GA
2023 Pinatar Cup	Runner-up	3	1	2	0	2	1

Notes

References

↑ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
1 2 "Wales". FIFA. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
↑ "Women's World Cup play-off: Wales hearts broken by extra-time Switzerland winner". BBC. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
↑ "MAJOR RESTRUCTURE FOR WOMEN'S GAME IN WALES". FAW. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
↑ "A new identity for football in Wales". faw.cymru. Football Association of Wales. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
↑ "'For Them' – Where 200 games began for Cymru women". Football Association of Wales. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
↑ "North Wales women's football greats: No 3 – Ceryl Tindall-Jones". February 8, 2021.
↑ "Internationale wedstrijden – KBVB". static.belgianfootball.be.
↑ "Keeper coach Tucker joins Swans". BBC Sport. 15 July 2009.
↑ Leighton, Tony (4 October 2010). "New Wales coach Jarmo Matikainen sets sights on Euro 2013 qualification". The Guardian.
↑ "Wales Women lose manager Jarmo Matikainen". BBC Sport. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
↑ "National Women's Teams Manager – Jayne Ludow". Football Association of Wales. 2 October 2014.
↑ "Jayne Ludlow: Wales manager leaves role". BBC Sport. 18 January 2021.
↑ "Gemma Grainger: Wales appoint new manager to succeed Jayne Ludlow". BBC Sport. 19 March 2021.
↑ Harries, Owain (November 23, 2023). "Cymru squad announced for home double header".
↑ Pitman, Mark (20 February 2015). "Ingle ready to lead Wales". UEFA. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
↑ "LOREN DYKES RETIRES FROM PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL". FA Wales. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
↑ Erik Garvin. "Inofficial European Women Championship 1979". RSSSF. Retrieved 2009-08-27.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[FIFA_Women's_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.

[fifatwo-2] 1 2 "Wales". FIFA. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved 2014-06-21.

[3] "Women's World Cup play-off: Wales hearts broken by extra-time Switzerland winner". BBC. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.

[4] "MAJOR RESTRUCTURE FOR WOMEN'S GAME IN WALES". FAW. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.

[5] "A new identity for football in Wales". faw.cymru. Football Association of Wales. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2021.

[6] "'For Them' – Where 200 games began for Cymru women". Football Association of Wales. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.

[7] "North Wales women's football greats: No 3 – Ceryl Tindall-Jones". February 8, 2021.

[8] "Internationale wedstrijden – KBVB". static.belgianfootball.be.

[9] "Keeper coach Tucker joins Swans". BBC Sport. 15 July 2009.

[10] Leighton, Tony (4 October 2010). "New Wales coach Jarmo Matikainen sets sights on Euro 2013 qualification". The Guardian.

[11] "Wales Women lose manager Jarmo Matikainen". BBC Sport. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2021.

[12] "National Women's Teams Manager – Jayne Ludow". Football Association of Wales. 2 October 2014.

[13] "Jayne Ludlow: Wales manager leaves role". BBC Sport. 18 January 2021.

[14] "Gemma Grainger: Wales appoint new manager to succeed Jayne Ludlow". BBC Sport. 19 March 2021.

[15] Harries, Owain (November 23, 2023). "Cymru squad announced for home double header".

[ingle_cap-16] Pitman, Mark (20 February 2015). "Ingle ready to lead Wales". UEFA. Retrieved 21 March 2021.

[17] "LOREN DYKES RETIRES FROM PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL". FA Wales. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.

[18] Erik Garvin. "Inofficial European Women Championship 1979". RSSSF. Retrieved 2009-08-27.

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Wales national football team
General	Football Association of Wales History 1876–1976 1977–present Managers Welsh Football Trust Dragon Park, Wales National Football Development Centre
Venues	Home venues Cardiff City Stadium Aberdare Athletic Ground Anfield Millennium Stadium Ninian Park Old Racecourse Ground Parc y Scarlets Penrhyn Park Racecourse Ground St. Helen's Swansea.com Stadium The Arms Park The National Stadium The Oval Vetch Field
Statistics	Results and fixtures Records European Championship record World Cup record Hat-tricks
Results	1876–1899 1900–1914 1920–1939 1946–1959 1960–1979 1980–1999 2000–2019 2020–present Unofficial matches Matches v Home Nations
Players	25+ caps World Cup & Euro Championship squads Born outside Wales Other categories
Goals	Gareth Bale Ian Rush
World Cup	1958 2022
European Championship	2016 2020
Other tournaments	British Home Championship (1884–1984) 2011 Nations Cup
Notable matches	First international match (Scotland v Wales) (1876) 1958 World Cup play-off (1958) 1986 World Cup qualifier (death of Jock Stein) (1985)
Culture	The Barry Horns When Pelé Broke Our Hearts "Together Stronger (C'mon Wales)"
Other FAW teams	Men Amateur (defunct) Under-21 Under-20 Under-19 Under-18 Under-17 Semi-Pro Women Under-17

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Defunct	Czechoslovakia East Germany Serbia and Montenegro Soviet Union Yugoslavia
Other	Great Britain Vatican City

Wales women's national football team – managers
Gore (1979–89) Lopez (1995–96) Thomas (1996–2000) Williams (2000–03) Beattie (2003–07) Tucker (2007–10) Matikainen (2010–14) Ludlow (2014–21) Grainger (2021–)
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