It has been a long, painful World Cup journey for Wales since their last appearance at the finals, 64 years ago. Now they’re back, to the relief of players past and present, and eager that it doesn’t end here
Words Chris Flanagan
ll was going to plan for Wales at Gothenburg’s Ullevi Stadium, until the ball was nodded towards the chest of a little-known 17-year-old, stood with his back to goal near the Welsh penalty spot.
The score was still 0-0 in the quarter-final of the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, and there were 24 minutes left to play. In one motion, the teenager trapped the ball, flicked it past defender Mel Charles, then fired a deflected shot into the bottom corner. “Who is this kid?” Welsh winger Cliff Jones later asked. It was Pele’s first World Cup goal, in what would be Wales’ last World Cup match for 64 years. While Brazil went on to become world champions five times over, what followed for the Dragons was an epoch of heartbreak, of frustration, of missed opportunities, as a nation desperately craved a return to the biggest stage of all. Sometimes, it seemed as if it would never happen. But finally, that moment has arrived. Finally, Wales are back.
When Rob Page’s side take on the USA in their World Cup opener on November 21, the eyes of the globe will be on them. Not so against Brazil in 1958 – not even Welsh viewers could watch it. Back then, all four quarter-finals kicked off simultaneously and only one could be screened live. The host broadcaster made the decision, so inevitably they selected Sweden’s clash with the USSR.
They missed history in the making. Pele added another three goals in the semi-final and a brace in the final to win the World Cup for Brazil, leaving Jimmy Murphy to wonder ‘what if’. “With John Charles in the side, we might have won,” rued the Wales boss, as he reflected on that 1-0 defeat to the Selecao.
Wales’ star man had scored in a 1-1 draw with Hungary in the tiny town of Sandviken, which was followed by further draws against Mexico and the hosts. Goal difference wasn’t a tiebreaker then, so Murphy’s men met the Magyars again in a play-off for a place in the quarter-finals. Fewer than 3,000 spectators saw Wales come from behind to triumph 2-1 through Ivor Allchurch’s stunning first-time volley and Terry Medwin’s winner – but they lost Charles to injury. Without the Juventus idol, Wales’ tournament was ended by Pele.
And that was that. Wales ran into Alfredo Di Stefano and Spain during the qualifying campaign for the 1962 World Cup, lost out to the USSR in 1966, then Charles retired.
Subsequent a
