Wales National Football Team's best XI's and Top Scorers by Year

The Welsh national football team only qualified for two final tournaments in its History (1 World Cup and 1 Euro) but did fairly well each time by reaching the quarter-finals of the 1958 World Cup in Sweden (elilminated by the eventual champion Brazil) and even the last-four of the Euro 2016, in France (eliminated by the eventual winner Portugal).

Here are these two legendary teams that more than half a century separates.

Wales, 1958 World Cup quarter-finalists : 

Wales 1958

Wales at the 1958 World Cup

1st Round :

Hungary - Wales : 1-1 (J. Charles)

Mexico - Wales : 1-1 (I. Allchurch)

Sweden - Wales : 0-0

Wales - Hungary : 2-1 (I. Allchurch, Medwin)

Quarter-finals :

Brazil - Wales : 1-0

The OR-IR pairing was Webster-Medwin in the two first group matches against Hungary and Mexico then Vernon-Hewitt in the third match against Sweden, Medwin-Hewitt in a fourth and decisive group match against Hungary and Medwin-Hewitt again in the quarter-finals.

John Charles missed the quarter-finals and the match against Brazil (0-1 with a goal by the 17 years old phenomenon Pelé). Webster was his substitute to fill the centre forward role for this match.

Wales, Euro 2016 Semi-finalists (winner of Belgium in the quarter-finals then eliminated by Portugal in the semi-finals).

Wales 2016

Wales at Euro 2016

1st Round/ Group Stage (1st of the group) :

Wales - Slovakia : 2-1 (Bale, Robson-Kanu)

England - Wales : 2-1 (Bale)

Russia - Wales : 0-3 (Ramsey, Taylor, Bale)

Round of 16 :

Wales - Northern Ireland : 1-0 (o.g.)

Quarter-finals :

Wales - Belgium : 3-1 (Williams, Robson-Kanu, Volkes)

Semi-finals :

Portugal - Wales : 2-0

Collins took the centre of the defense when he had to replace Davies when the latter got suspended (and Williams, usually in the middle, took the left hand of the defense). Arsenal's Ramsey was suspended for the semi-finals and was replaced by King in this occasion.

We'll finally take note that Wales was "quarter-finalist" of the Euro 1976 when the finals still consisted only in the semi-finals, the little final and the final. They had qualified to this stage of the competition by topping their group ahead of Hungary, Austria and Luxembourg and then were eliminated by Yugoslavia (0-2 loss away in Zagreb then 1-1 at Ninian Park in a bad-tempered match).

The team included the likes of Mike England (the centre-half), Leighton James (winger), Terry Yorath (the midfielder of Leeds) or John Toshack (the centre forward of Liverpool).

The 50's are widely considered as the golden age of the Welsh national team and an outstanding player of the time but who was born too early to be part of the 1958 team was the wing-half Ron Burgness, of Tottenham.

From 1976 to 2016, the Welsh only knew some punctual successes of prestige. You can consult this section of the national team's wiki page in order to spot them as a start. And also to figure out who are the other noticeable players in the team's History (consulting the whole article).

You'll also certainly find some interesting websites in order to know more.

As announced, the point here is just to hughlight the most successful teams and to offer the list of the national team's top scorer by year and here it is now, as for the second part of this article, here.

Wales National Team's top scorers by year.

1876 : no goals scored (1 match).

1877 : no goals scored (1 match).

1878 : no goals scored (1 match).

1879 : William Davies (Oswestry Utd), 1 goal.

1880 : William Roberts (Llangollen), 2 goals.

1881 : William Bell (Shrewsbury Engineers), John Morgan (Derby School Staff), Knyvett Crosse & John Vaughn (Ruabon Druids), 1 goal.

1882 : William Owen (Ruthin) & John Price (Wrexham), 4 goals.

1883 : Walter Roberts (Ruthin), 1 goal.

1884 : Walter Roberts (Ruthin) & Edward Shaw (Oswestry Utd), 2 goals.

1885 : Herbert Sisson (Wrexham), 3 goals. John Roach (Oswestry), 2.

1886 : 7 players with 1 goal scored.

1887 : Jack Powell (Newton Heath) & Henry Sabine (Oswestry), 1 goal.

1888 : Jack Doughty (Newton Heath), 6 goals.

1889 : Richard Jarrett (Ruthin), 3 goals.

1890 : William Pryce-Jones (Nwtown), 2 goals.

1891 : John Bowdler (Shrewsbury), 2 goals.

1892 : Benjamin Lewis (Chester then Crewe Alexandra), 2 goals.

1893 : George Owen (Chirk), 2 goals.

1894 : Billy Lewis (Chester) & Hugh Morris (Sheffield Utd), 2 goals.

1895 : Billy Lewis (Chester) & Harry Trainer (Wrexham), 2 goals.

1896 : Billy Lewis (Chester) & Billy Meredith (Manchester City), 2 goals.

1897 : Billy Meredith (Manchester City), 2 goals.

1898 : Morgan Morgan-Owen (Corinthians) & John Thomas (Bangor FC), 2 goals.

1899 : no goals scored (3 matches).

1900 : Billy Meredith (Manchester City) & Thomas Parry (Oswestry), 2 goals.

1901 : Thomas Parry (Oswestry) & John Jones (Bangor), 1 goal.

1902 : Hugh Morgan-Owen (Oxford), 1 goal.

1903 : Walter Watkins (Stoke), 1 goal.

1904 : Walter Watkins (Aston Villa), Bobby Atherton (Middlesbrough) & Lloyd Davies (Stoke), 1 goal.

1905 : Walter Watkins (Sunderland) & Grenville Morris (Nottingham Forest), 1 goal.

1906 : Arthur Green (Notts County), 3 goals.

1907 : William Jones (Manchester City), 2 goals.

1908 : William Jones (Manchester City) & Tinker Davies (Blackburn), 1 goal.

1909 : William Jones (Manchester City) & Tinker Davies (Blackburn), 2 goals.

1910 : Grenville Morris (Nottingham Forest) & Bobby Evans (Sheffield Utd), 2 goals.

1911 : Grenville Morris (Nottingham Forest), 3 goals.

1912 : Tinker Davies (Blackburn) & David Davies (Treharris), 1 goal.

1913 : Billy Meredith (Manchester Utd), Ernest Peake (Liverpool), James Roberts (Wrexham) & Walter Davis (Milwall), 1 goal.

1914 : Evan Jones (Bolton), 1 goal.

1920 : Stanley Davies (Preston), 3 goals.

1921 : Stanley Davies (Everton), Billy Hole (Swansea) & Dai Collier (Grimsby), 1 goal.

1922 : Len Davies (Cardiff), 2 goals.

1923 : Fred Keenor (Cardiff) & Ivor Jones (West Brom), 1 goal.

1924 : Willie Davies (Swansea), 2 goals.

1925 : Fred Keenor (Cardiff) & Billy Williams (Northampton), 1 goal.

1926 : Jack Fowler (Swansea), 2 goals.

1927 : Len Davies (Cardiff) & David Williams (The Wednesday), 2 goals.

1928 : Willie Davies (Cardiff then Notts County), 3 goals.

1929 : Len Davies (Cardiff), Taffy O'Callaghan (Tottenham), Fred Warren (Cardiff) & Billy Mays (Wrexham), 1 goal.

1930 : Thomas Bamford (Wrexham), 1 goal.

1931 : Ernest Curtis (Birmingham), 2 goals.

1932 : Dai Astley (Aston Villa), 3 goals. O'Callaghan (Tott.) & Walter Robbins (West Brom), 2.

1933 : Dai Astley (Aston Villa), 2 goals.

1934 : Dai Astley (Aston Villa) & Charlie Philipps (Wolverhampton), 1 goal.

1935 : Charlie Philipps (Wolverhampton), 2 goals.

1936 : Pat Glover (Grimsby), 3 goals. Astley, 2.

1937 : Pat Glover (Grimsby) & Bryn Jones (Wolverhampton), 2 goals.

1938 : Dai Astley (Derby), 3 goals.

1939 : Dai Astley (Blackpool), Pat Glover (Grimsby), Horace Cumner (Arsenal) & Les Boulter (Brentford), 1 goal.

1946 : Trevor Ford (Swansea) & Bryn Jones (Arsenal), 1 goal.

1947 : Trevor Ford (Aston Villa), 2 goals.

1948 : Bryn Jones (Arsenal), George Edwards (Birmingham) & George Lowrie (Coventry), 1 goal.

1949 : Trevor Ford (Aston Villa), 7 goals.

1950 : Trevor Ford (Aston Villa), 2 goals.

1951 : Trevor Ford (Sunderland), 4 goals. I. Allchurch (Swansea), 3.

1952 : Trevor Ford (Sunderland), 3 goals.

1953 : John Charles (Leeds), 4 goals. Ford & Allchurch, 3.

1954 : John Charles (Leeds), 3 goals.

1955 : John Charles (Leeds), 4 goals.

1956 : John Charles (Leeds), Trevor Ford (Cardiff), Terry Medwin (Tottenham) & Roy Clarke (Man City), 1 goal.

1957 : Des Palmer (Swansea), 3 goals.

1958 : Ivor Allchurch (Swansea then Newcastle), 5 goals.

1959 : John Charles (Juventus), Graham Moore & Derek Tapscott (Cardiff), 1 goal.

1960 : Cliff Jones (Tottenham), 4 goals.

1961 : Ivor Allchurch (Newcastle) & Cliff Jones (Tottenham), 3 goals.

1962 : Melvyn Charles (Cardiff), 4 goals.

1963 : Cliff Jones (Tottenham), 4 goals.

1964 : Ken Leek (Birmingham), 2 goals.

1965 : Roy Vernon (Stoke), 6 goals. I. Allchurch (Cardiff then Swansea), 5.

1966 : Wyn Davies (Bolton then Newcastle) & Ron Davies (Norwich then Southampton), 2 goals.

1967 : Ron Davies (Southampton) & Alan Durban (Derby), 1 goal.

1968 : Wyn Davies (Newcastle), 2 goals.

1969 : Ron Davies (Southampton), 3 goals. J. Toshack (Cardiff), 2.

1970 : Ron Rees (Nottingham Forest) & Dick Krzywicki (Huddersfield), 1 goal.

1971 : John Toshack (Liverpool), 2 goals.

1972 : no goals scored (in 4 matches).

1973 : John Toshack (Liverpool), Leighton James (Burnley) & Trevor Hockey (as a Norwich player), 1 goal.

1974 : Arfon Griffiths (Wrexham), 3 goals. Toshack, 2.

1975 : John Toshack (Liverpool), 3 goals. Griffiths & James, 2 (vs Lux. as for James).

1976 : Ian Evans (Crystal Palace), 2 goals.

1977 : Leighton James (Derby), 3 goals. Nick Deacy (PSV Eindhoven), 2.

1978 : Ian Edwards (Chester), 4 in 1 match against Malta. His only cap this year.

1979 : John Toshack (Swansea), 3 goals. Alan Curtis (Leeds), 2.

1980 : Ian Walsh (Crystal Palace), 4 goals. James (Swansea), 3.

1981 : Ian Walsh (Crystal Palace), 2 goals.

1982 : Ian Rush (Liverpool), 4 goals.

1983 : Ian Rush (Liverpool), 3 goals. Robbie James (Stoke), 2.

1984 : Mark Hughes (Manchester Utd), 3 goals.

1985 : Ian Rush (Liverpool), 4 goals. Hughes, 3.

1986 : Dean Saunders (Brighton) & Neil Slatter (Oxford), 2 goals.

1987 : Ian Rush (Liverpool, did not score as a Juve player), 2 goals.

1988 : Ian Rush (Juventus, did not score as Liverpool player) & Dean Saunders (Oxford), 2 goals.

1989 : Malcolm Allen (Norwich), 2 goals.

1990 : Dean Saunders (Derby), 4 goals. Rush, 2.

1991 : Paul Bodin (Crystal Palace), 3 goals. Dean Saunders (Derby then Liverpool), 2. Rush, 1.

1992 : Ian Rush (Liverpool), 4 goals.

1993 : Ian Rush (Liverpool), 4 goals. Dean Saunders (Aston Villa), 3. Ryan Giggs (Man Urd), 2.

1994 : Chris Coleman (Crystal Palace), 2 goals.

1995 : Dean Saunders (Aston Villa), 2 goals.

1996 : Dean Saunders (Nottingham Forest) & Mark Hughes (Chelsea), 4 goals. Saunders never scored as a Galatasaray player (3 caps in 95 and 96).

1997 : 8 players with 1 goal.

1998 : Craig Bellamy (Norwich), 2 goals.

1999 : Dean Saunders (Bradford, did not score as a Benfica player) & Ryan Giggs (Man Utd), 1 goal.

2000 : Nathan Blake (Blackburn), 2 goals.

2001 : John Hartson (Coventry then Celtic), 4 goals.

2002 : Simon Davies (Tottenham), 3 goals. Bellamy (Newcastle) & Hartson (Celtic), 2.

2003 : John Hartson (Celtic), 3 goals. Robert Earnshaw (Cardiff), 2.

2004 : Robert Earnshaw (Cardiff then West Bromwich), 6 goals. Hartson, 3.

2005 : Ryan Giggs (Manchester Utd), 3 goals. Bellamy (Celtic), 2.

2006 : Robert Earnshaw (Norwich) & Jason Koumas (West Brom), 3 goals. Bellamy (L'pool), 2.

2007 : Craig Bellamy (Liverpool then West Ham), 4 goals. Koumas (W. Brom then Wigan), 3.

2008 : Jason Koumas (Wigan), 3 goals.

2009 : Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) & David Edwards (Wolverhampton), 2 goals.

2010 : 6 players with 1 goal.

2011 : Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) & Gareth Bale (Tottenham), 3 goals.

2012 : Gareth Bale (Tottenham), 3 goals.

2013 : Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), 3 goals. Bale (Tott.), 2.

2014 : Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), 3 goals.

2015 : Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), 5 goals.

2016 : Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), 7 goals.

2017 : Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) & Tom Lawrence (Derby), 2 goals.

2018 : Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), 5 goals.

2019 : Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Aaron Ramsey (Juventus), Daniel James (Swansea then Manchester Utd), Kieffer Moore (Wigan), 2 goals.

Gareth Bale broke the record of goals scored for the Welsh Team of Ian Rush. Bale has 33 goals so far. Rush has 28.