The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was the tenth European Championships and was held in England between 8 and 30 June 1996. It was the first European Championship to feature 16 finalists, following UEFA's decision to expand the tournament from eight teams. The tournament was won by Germany beating the Czech Republic 2-1 after extra time at Wembley Stadium, London
- 1. Host selection
- 2. Qualifying
- 3. Wales and the 1996 European Championship
- 4. Wales players used during qualifying
The hosting of the event was contested by Austria, England, Greece, the Netherlands and Portugal with the English bid selected by the UEFA Executive Committee at a meeting in Lisbon on 5 May 1992.
Forty seven UEFA members entered the qualification tournament for the 1996 UEFA European Football Championship with England qualifying automatically as hosts.
Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia participated in the European Championship qualifiers for the first time having participated in the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Following the break up of the Soviet Union, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine participated for the first time.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia participated as separate countries whilst Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia took part following the break up of Yugoslavia, however FR Yugoslavia were still banned due to United Nations sanctions.
Liechtenstein, members of UEFA since 1974, participated for the very first time whilst Israel, who had moved from the Oceania Federation in 1994, also took part in the qualifying competition for the first time.
Wales were seeded in the second pot and were drawn into Group 7 alongside Germany, Bulgaria, Georgia, Albania and Moldova. This was the first time Wales had played Albania, Georgia and Moldova.
Uefa qualifying group 7
| no. | date | score | scorers (wales) | venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07/09/1994 | Georgia 0-1 Moldova | Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi | ECQ | ||
| 455 | 07/09/1994 | Wales 2-0 Albania | Coleman, Giggs | Arms Park, Cardiff | ECQ |
| 456 | 12/10/1994 | Moldova 3-2 Wales | Speed, Blake | Stadionul Republican, Chişinău | ECQ |
| 12/10/1994 | Bulgaria 2-0 Georgia | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia | ECQ | ||
| 16/11/1994 | Albania 1-2 Germany | Qemal StafaStadium, Tirana | ECQ | ||
| 16/11/1994 | Bulgaria 4-1 Moldova | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia | ECQ | ||
| 457 | 16/11/1994 | Georgia 5-0 Wales | Boris Paichadze National Stadium, Tbilisi | ECQ | |
| 14/12/1994 | Moldova 0-3 Germany | Stadionul Republican, Chişinău | ECQ | ||
| 458 | 14/12/1994 | Wales 0-3 Bulgaria | Arms Park, Cardiff | ECQ | |
| 14/12/1994 | Albania 0-1 Georgia | Qemal StafaStadium, Tirana | ECQ | ||
| 18/12/1994 | Germany 2-1 Albania | Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern | ECQ | ||
| 29/03/1995 | Georgia 0-2 Germany | Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi | ECQ | ||
| 459 | 29/03/1995 | Bulgaria 3-1 Wales | Saunders | Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia | ECQ |
| 29/03/1995 | Albania 3-0 Moldova | Qemal StafaStadium, Tirana | ECQ | ||
| 26/04/1995 | Georgia 2-0 Albania | Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi | ECQ | ||
| 26/04/1995 | Moldova 0-3 Bulgaria | Stadionul Republican, Chişinău | ECQ | ||
| 460 | 26/04/1995 | Germany 1-1 Wales | Saunders | Rheinstadion, Dusseldorf | ECQ |
| 07/06/1995 | Bulgaria 3-2 Germany | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia | ECQ | ||
| 461 | 07/06/1995 | Wales 0-1 Georgia | Arms Park, Cardiff | ECQ | |
| 07/06/1995 | Moldova 2-3 Albania | Stadionul Republican, Chişinău | ECQ | ||
| 06/09/1995 | Albania 1-1 Bulgaria | Qemal StafaStadium, Tirana | ECQ | ||
| 06/09/1995 | Germany 4-1 Georgia | Frankenstadion, Nuremberg | ECQ | ||
| 462 | 06/09/1995 | Wales 1-0 Moldova | Speed | Arms Park, Cardiff | ECQ |
| 07/10/1995 | Bulgaria 3-0 Albania | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia | ECQ | ||
| 08/10/1995 | Germany 6-1 Moldova | Ulrich Haberland Stadion, Leverkusen | ECQ | ||
| 11/10/1995 | Georgia 2-1 Bulgaria | Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi | ECQ | ||
| 463 | 11/10/1995 | Wales 1-2 Germany | own goal | Arms Park, Cardiff | ECQ |
| 15/11/1995 | Germany 3-1 Bulgaria | Olympiastadion, Berlin | ECQ | ||
| 464 | 15/11/1995 | Albania 1-1 Wales | Pembridge | Qemal Stafa, Tirana | ECQ |
| 15/11/1995 | Moldova 3-2 Georgia | Stadionul Republican, Chişinău | ECQ |
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Germany | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 10 | 25 |
| 2. | Bulgaria | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 10 | 22 |
| 3. | Georgia | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 15 |
| 4. | Moldova | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 27 | 9 |
| 5. | Wales | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 8 |
| 6. | Albania | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 8 |
Wales and the 1996 European Championship
Wales were seeded in the second pot and were drawn into Group 7 alongside Germany, Bulgaria, Georgia, Albania and Moldova. This was the first time Wales had played Albania, Georgia and Moldova.
Following the dismissal of Terry Yorath as Wales team manager and John Toshack's one game in charge, the Football Association of Wales turned to former manager, Mike Smith, to lead Wales in to the 1996 UEFA European Championship campaign.
The opening match saw Wales meet Albania for the first time and goals from Chris Coleman and Ryan Giggs secured a relatively comfortable home win for Wales.
However, disaster struck as Wales travelled to the former Soviet Union to face newly independent Moldova in their first home competitive international match.
