Heartbreak for Wales in Cardiff as Poland seal Euro 2024 spot after penalty shoot-out
Wales suffered heartbreak in their first-ever penalty shoot-out as Poland booked their place at Euro 2024 after a goalless 120 minutes.
Together with England and Scotland, Wales formed the earliest version of the international soccer calendar.
Wales made FIFA World Rankings history with their meteoric rise in the rankings between 2011 and 2015, when the side climbed from 117th all the way up to eighth.
Despite effectively helping to establish competitive international soccer and joining FIFA in 1910, Wales did not enter the first three World Cups over a dispute between the home nations and soccer's global governing body.
The early years saw the home nations take an insular approach and Wales did not play a match outside of the British Isles until they travelled to Paris in 1933 to take on France.
There was a change in qualifying route for the 1958 World Cup with a very good Wales team drawn against tricky opponents in Czechoslovakia and East Germany.
Wales won both their home games but lost in Leipzig and Prague. Des Palmer rattled in a hat-trick against East Germany in Cardiff, but those would be his final goals for his country.
Initially, it seemed as though manager Jimmy Murphy had failed to lead Wales' golden generation to the World Cup but an unconventional path presented itself.
After Egypt and Sudan refused to play them and Indonesia insisted on a neutral venue, Israel were declared winners of their Asian/African qualifying zone group.
Feeling they couldn't simply allow a team to go straight into the World Cup FIFA drew lots to determine Israel's play-off opponents. Belgium were picked out but refused to participate and second picks Wales won both play-off legs 2-0 to qualify for Sweden.
They were handed a tough draw but managed to emerge from a group that included hosts Sweden, Hungary and Mexico.
Charles got a crucial equaliser in their opening game against Hungary which ended 1-1. Allchurch put Wales in front against Mexico before Jaime Belmonte scored a famous goal to secure his country their first World Cup points and deny the Dragons victory. A goalless draw against Sweden meant Wales booked a quarter-final date with Brazil.
Wales were undone by a cheeky finish from Pele - his first international goal - in their last-eight meeting with Brazil but enjoyed a memorable ride at their only World Cup appearance to date.
After the memorable debut, Wales failed to make another major championship in the 20th century.
Six years later they suffered another near miss after beating Germany in June 1991 to go to the top of their Euro qualifying group. However, the newly reunified German side humbled Wales in the reverse fixture 4-1 and they would finish second and miss out on the tournament.
In qualifying for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Wales were obliterated by Romania in their opening game, but they had clawed their way back into contention by the final round of matches. Wales needed to win their final match against Romania in Cardiff but came up short, losing 2-1 after Paul Bodin missed a penalty at 1-1.
Under Mark Hughes, Wales were a play-off away from making it to the 2004 European Championships. However, they were beaten by Russia in a tense second-leg tie, that followed Russian midfielder Yegor Titov testing positive for a banned substance after the first-leg stalemate in Moscow.
The emergence of the first Welsh global superstar of the modern game in Gareth Bale played a part in raising expectations for the tiny nation.
Under Gary Speed, Wales enjoyed a meteoric rise up the FIFA Rankings and his work set the nation on an upward trajectory. Speed took his own life just weeks after Wales were awarded an unofficial FIFA honour for the biggest rankings gain of 2011.
Coleman would guide Wales to the 2016 Euros in France after they finished second in their qualifying group behind Belgium. Wales lost just once in the qualifying campaign, going down to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the penultimate round of qualifiers.
Slovakia, Russia and England made up Wales' Euros group which left them with a tough task to reach the knockout phase.
Wales started strong with a 2-1 win over Slovakia and then took the lead against England through Bale, before going down 2-1 against the old enemy. England's draw with Russia in the opening round left the group hanging on a knife-edge and Wales produced the goods at the crucial moment, sweeping aside Russia 3-0 to win the group.
Wales faced another familiar opponent in the round of 16, coming up against Northern Ireland. The match was a hard-fought Home Nations scrap which was decided by an own goal from Gareth McAuley, who put through his net after failing to deal with a cross from Bale.
In the quarter-final, Wales met Belgium, whom they had faced in qualifying and produced arguably their best performance on the international stage.
Wales came back from a goal down to beat the Belgians, who were among the tournament favourites. They would bow out in the semi-finals, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Portugal but became the smallest nation by population to reach the last four of the Euros.
The team was rocked by controversy in 2020 however, as manager Ryan Giggs was arrested and suspended from his post with the national team. Giggs is accused of assaulting ex-girlfriend Kate Greville, causing actual bodily harm, controlling and coercive behaviour and common assault.
Rob Page was appointed interim manager and guided Wales to a spot in the top division of the UEFA Nations League.
He also saw them through their group at Euro 2020 before the Welsh were humbled 4-0 by Denmark in the round of 16.
The 33-year-old Bale, made a record 111th Wales appearance against England, but underperformed at the tournament with only a late penalty against USA serving as his main contribution. Wales other major star turn Aaron Ramsey also had little impact.
Giggs is among the most decorated players to have played the game, but was hindered by a lack of quality around him. Bale, in contrast, can call upon the likes of Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen as team-mates.
Speed will be remembered for the tragic end to his life, but should be considered one of the best players to pull on the red of Wales.
For a time Liverpool and Manchester United came together in the Wales strikeforce with Ian Rush and Mark Hughes striking up a partnership that got them close to major championships.
Wales have also recently struck up a rivalry with Belgium due to a number of high-profile meetings between the two countries.
Wales beat Belgium in Euro 2016, the two nations were drawn together for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign and in the 2022/24 Nations League.
The nation has had little to celebrate in its soccer history, but that has made every big moment that much more special for those there to witness it.
Wales suffered heartbreak in their first-ever penalty shoot-out as Poland booked their place at Euro 2024 after a goalless 120 minutes.
The final opportunity to qualify for this summer’s European Championships is upon us as Wales host Poland in a momentous play-off final in Cardiff (1945 GMT).
The Euro 2024 qualifying campaign concludes on Tuesday as Wales face Poland, Ukraine host Iceland and Georgia clash with Greece.
Aston Villa defender Matty Cash will miss Poland’s Euro 2024 play-off final against Wales through injury.
Daniel James was delighted to celebrate the birth of his new baby by scoring on his 50th Wales appearance in the Euro play-off win over Finland.
Rob Page has hit back after Cardiff manager Erol Bulut complained over the lack of communication from Wales about including Aaron Ramsey in their Euro 2024 play-off squad.
Wales, Poland and Ukraine are among the sides hoping to qualify for Euro 2024 this week and they headline Planet Sport’s Thursday acca.