Led by Bale and Ramsey, Wales, who were playing in Euro 2016 for the first time, impressed by reaching the top four. Six years later, Wales returned to the World Cup after 64 years, which once again caught the attention of the world.
Wales, known as the "Prince of Wales", is an integral part of the United Kingdom. In terms of national identity, the Welsh consider themselves to be of Celtic descent, indigenous to the British Isles, and the English are considered foreigners.
From the 5th century to 1283 AD, wars between Wales and the English broke out on average every 17 years. However, Wales remained divided for a long time, and as a result its territory was constantly encroached upon by England, and suzerainty fell into English hands. It was not until the 13th century that the Welsh established a unified Principality of Wales. However, in 1283, King Edward I of England completely conquered Wales, executed the Prince of Wales, Gruffydd, and thus ruled directly over Wales. "Prince of Wales" was also taken away from the English royal family, and became a fixed title for the Crown Prince of England.
Prince William
In the following centuries, the Welsh also started some revolts, but they were suppressed by England. After the Industrial Revolution, England, with England as the main body, became the most powerful nation in the world. With the help of its great power and influence, England tried to rebuild its national identity with Wales and Scotland. From the 17th century to the mid-20th century, the national identity of the Welsh gradually faded, and Wales was once left only with the concept of place names.
Although the World Cup is the second time for Wales to participate in the World Cup, the soccer heritage of Wales is quite deep. It is well known that modern soccer originated in the U.K. In 1872, the world's first recognized international soccer match was played between England and Scotland, and in 1876, Wales also established its own soccer association (similar to those in other countries) and founded Wales.
At the time, the rules of soccer varied greatly around the world. In order to promote the promotion of soccer and the exchange of soccer between different countries, the soccer associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (which at that time were not yet independent of the United Kingdom) agreed to organize the British Four Corners Championship, with Wales having become one of the first teams to participate in an international tournament.
The Four Corners Championship continued until 1984
Although the English and the Soviets belonged to the United Kingdom, their teams came from different political entities and represented different FAs. As a result, the British Quadrangular Championship is also considered to be the earliest international championship. However, for a long time, only four teams between England and the Soviet Union were able to play. It was not until the end of the 19th century that teams played international matches against other countries.
At the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, Wales became the next British team to qualify for the World Cup after England and Scotland. Northern Ireland also qualified for this World Cup. For the first time, four total teams appeared in the same World Cup frame (PS: It is worth noting that Italy also failed to qualify for the World Cup, being eliminated by Northern Ireland in the play-offs.
In the 1958 World Cup publicity, the four English teams were painted as the British flag
In fact, Wales were quite fortunate to qualify for this tournament. At the World Cup qualifying stage, the Asian and African teams were put in the same group. At the time, Israel, still in the AFC, was boycotted by many Muslim countries. Turkey, Egypt and Sudan refused to play Israel. As a result, Israel qualified for the World Cup without playing a single match.
Wales' World Cup debut was commendable. They progressed through their group of hosts Sweden, Hungary and Mexico (three draws, beating Hungary in the play-offs) and were eliminated by Pele's Brazil in the quarter-finals. Nonetheless, Welsh fans are still very happy with their World Cup experience, as Wales finished seventh in the World Cup, above the other three English teams.
Perhaps the World Cup in Sweden cost Wales all its luck. Since then, Wales has been accompanied by sadness: in the 1982 World Cup qualifiers, they were squeezed out by Czechoslovakia on goal difference; in the 1986 World Cup qualifiers, they not only won key battles but were held to a draw by Scotland; in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers, Welsh player Bodin conceded a crucial penalty in the do-or-die match against Romania; in the Wales lost to Ireland in a 2018 World Cup qualifier ......
For historical reasons, clubs from large cities such as Cardiff City, Swansea, Wrexham and Newport joined the English league a long time ago. In order to expand the league's reach, the Welsh FA encouraged towns and even villages to form teams to play in the professional league. Today, although the level of competition in the Welsh leagues does not match that of England, this initiative has contributed greatly to the popularity of soccer in Wales.
At the same time, Welsh soccer clubs are encouraging Welsh players to train at youth level and play soccer with more English teams. With the rapid development of the English league, the ability of Welsh players has also improved greatly. Although the Welsh do not like the English, the rapid development of the Premier League has really pushed the standard of Welsh soccer up. Bale and other players grew up in this environment.
On the eve of Euro 2016, the Welsh FA developed the Welsh Football Global Vision Plan, which the Welsh FA described as a plan "which could take the development of soccer in Wales from park soccer to the world stage."
In addition to the development of a youth training system, Wales has also placed a strong emphasis on women's football - in 2009, the Welsh FA established the Welsh Women's Premier League. Today, there is a 50% increase in the number of women playing soccer compared to 2016. There are now 8,600 registered female soccer players in Wales.
Wales women's soccer team celebrates World Cup final
Wales and Ukraine met in the play-offs. At the time, almost everyone was backing Ukraine on social media, and Wales coach Rob Latterly Page said, "The impression I got from the public opinion on social media at the time was that we seemed to be against the world."
Even the British media came in for a moral abduction, with the Mail writing in its report, "Do the Welsh players know that it will break Ukrainian hearts if they progress to the World Cup?"
To which the Welsh First Minister, Mark Drakeford, responded, "If the click of a mouse or the movement of a mouth can alleviate the suffering of Ukrainians, we will not hesitate to do so. But it would be exciting for all Welsh people if we made it to the World Cup. So there's nothing to say. Doing business."
Wales ultimately did not accept the moral abduction and got their ticket to the World Cup in Qatar. Returning to the World Cup made their fans happy, but the next series of actions by the British royal family annoyed them greatly.
A week before the opening of the World Cup, the England team, presided over by William, Prince of Wales, held an expedition ceremony. During the ceremony, William told the English soldiers, "The whole country is behind you, enjoy the tournament!"
"I don't think there is anything wrong with my statement. Because I have to look after the mood of the English fans. If I give up my support for England, it would obviously be inappropriate to say that I support Wales. But I hope England and Wales will meet in the final."
The Welsh did not want William to change his stance in favor of Wales, but William missed the opportunity to build a good relationship with the Welsh by not knowing the deep significance of the World Cup for them. The Welsh media called William's stance "an oopsie from the British royal family" and wrote: "Considering that William has not yet been formally crowned Prince of Wales, his statement is like an assist to those who don't want him to be the Prince of Wales. "
So in this moment, the Welsh players must keep a wicked spirit. Not surprisingly, this World Cup will be the last for Bale, Ramsey and others. The Welsh also took to social media to say that anyone can lose, but they can't lose to England.
