The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the twentieth FIFA World Cup and was held in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014. It was the second FIFA World Cup to be hosted by Brazil. The tournament was won by Germany, claiming their fourth title, beating Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the final at Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro.
- 1. Host selection
- 2. Qualifying
- 3. Wales and the 2014 World Cup
- 4. Wales players used during qualifying
FIFA announced that the 2014 FIFA World Cup would be held in South America for the first time since Argentina hosted the 1978 FIFA World Cup, in line with its policy of rotating the right to host the World Cup amongst the confederations.
Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia expressed an interest to host the tournament with CONMEBOL associations voting to accept Brazil as their favoured bid.
Argentina and Colombia withdrew their bids, making Brazil the only official candidate to host the event in 2014.
Two hundred and seven1 countries entered the qualifying competition.
Hosts, Brazil, qualified automatically whilst the remaining 31 places, were allocated with 13 to Europe (UEFA), four to South America (CONMEBOL), three to the North and Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF), five to Africa (CAF) and four to Asia (AFC) whilst one qualifier from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) would face one team from the CONCACAF qualifiers in an intercontinental play off and one qualifier from CONMEBOL would face a qualifier from AFC for the final two places.
Fifty three teams entered the European qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The teams were divided into nine groups; eight groups of six teams and one group of five teams. The group winners would qualify whilst the six best runners-up would advance to the UEFA play-offs.
Wales were placed in Pot 6 as the sixth seeds, and were drawn in Group A alongside Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Scotland and Macedonia. This would be Wales' first meeting with Macedonia.
Uefa qualifying Group A
| no. | date | score | scorers (wales) | venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07/09/2012 | Croatia 1-0 Macedonia | Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb | WCQ | ||
| 596 | 07/09/2012 | Wales 0-2 Belgium | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | WCQ | |
| 08/09/2012 | Scotland 0-0 Serbia | Hampden Park, Glasgow | WCQ | ||
| 597 | 11/09/2012 | Serbia 6-1 Wales | Bale | Stadion Karađorđe, Novi Sad | WCQ |
| 11/09/2012 | Belgium 1-1 Croatia | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels | WCQ | ||
| 11/09/2012 | Scotland 1-1 Macedonia | Hampden Park, Glasgow | WCQ | ||
| 12/10/2012 | Macedonia 1-2 Croatia | Philip II Arena, Skopje | WCQ | ||
| 12/10/2012 | Serbia 0-3 Belgium | Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade | WCQ | ||
| 598 | 12/10/2012 | Wales 2-1 Scotland | Bale (2) | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | WCQ |
| 16/10/2012 | Macedonia 1-0 Serbia | Philip II Arena, Skopje | WCQ | ||
| 16/10/2012 | Belgium 2-0 Scotland | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels | WCQ | ||
| 599 | 16/10/2012 | Croatia 2-0 Wales | Stadion Gradski Vrt, Osijek | WCQ | |
| 22/03/2013 | Croatia 2-0 Serbia | Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb | WCQ | ||
| 22/03/2012 | Macedonia 0-2 Belgium | Philip II Arena, Skopje | WCQ | ||
| 601 | 22/03/2013 | Scotland 1-2 Wales | Ramsey (pen), Robson-Kanu | Hampden Park, Glasgow | WCQ |
| 26/03/2013 | Serbia 2-0 Scotland | Stadion Karađorđe, Novi Sad | WCQ | ||
| 26/03/2013 | Belgium 1-0 Macedonia | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels | WCQ | ||
| 602 | 26/03/2013 | Wales 1-2 Croatia | Bale (pen) | Liberty Stadium, Swansea | WCQ |
| 07/06/2013 | Croatia 0-1 Scotland | Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb | WCQ | ||
| 07/06/2013 | Belgium 2-1 Serbia | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels | WCQ | ||
| 604 | 06/09/2013 | FYR Macedonia 2-1 Wales | Ramsey (pen) | Philip II Arena, Skopje | WCQ |
| 06/09/2013 | Serbia 1-1 Croatia | Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade | WCQ | ||
| 06/09/2013 | Scotland 0-2 Belgium | Hampden Park, Glasgow | WCQ | ||
| 10/09/2013 | Macedonia 1-2 Scotland | Philip II Arena, Skopje | WCQ | ||
| 605 | 10/09/2013 | Wales 0-3 Serbia | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | WCQ | |
| 11/10/2013 | Croatia 1-2 Belgium | Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb | WCQ | ||
| 606 | 11/10/2013 | Wales 1-0 FYR Macedonia | Church | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | WCQ |
| 15/10/2013 | Serbia 5-1 Macedonia | Stadion Jagodina, Jagodina | WCQ | ||
| 607 | 15/10/2013 | Belgium 1-1 Wales | Ramsey | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels | WCQ |
| 15/10/2013 | Scotland 2-0 Croatia | Hampden Park, Glasgow | WCQ |
Head to head
| BEL | CRO | MAC | SCO | SER | WAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL | 1-1 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 2-1 | 1-1 | |
| CRO | 1-2 | 1-0 | 0-1 | 2-0 | 2-0 | |
| MAC | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 2-1 | |
| SCO | 0-2 | 2-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | |
| SER | 0-3 | 1-1 | 5-1 | 2-0 | 6-1 | |
| WAL | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 2-1 | 0-3 |
Group standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Belgium | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 26 |
| 2. | Croatia | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 17 |
| 3. | Serbia | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 11 | 14 |
| 4. | Scotland | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 11 |
| 5. | Wales | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 20 | 10 |
| 6. | Macedonia | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 7 |
Having slipped to 112th in the FIFA World Rankings, Wales were placed in Pot 6 as the sixth seeds, and were drawn in Group A alongside Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Scotland and Macedonia. This would be Wales' first meeting with Macedonia.
Wales' plans for the qualifying campaign were rendered almost irrelevant when, a few months after the draw, manager Gary Speed died by suicide in November 2011.
Speed's close friend and former international team-mate, Chris Coleman, took charge of Wales but a 0-2 defeat in Belgium and a 1-6 thrashing in Novi Sad, Serbia saw Coleman suffer four defeats in his first four matches as manager.
Despite also losing to Croatia, two wins over Scotland, the first of which saw Ben Davies make his debut for Wales, and the second, a debut for Jonathan Williams, ensured Wales reached the half way stage in the group in third place.
However being seven points adrift of joint leaders Belgium and Croatia any hopes of qualification were further dashed by a home defeat to Croatia.
Having joined Real Madrid for a world record transfer fee of €100m five days previously, an injured Gareth Bale, sat on the bench as Wales were defeated in Skopje in the first ever meeting with Macedonia.
Declan John made his debut in the home victory over Macedonia, a game which saw Wayne Hennessey return in goal after an almost two year international absence because of injury.
Wales earned a well deserved point in the final game of the qualifying campaign which saw Belgium secure top spot and qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but the game was an historic occasion for Wales too as Harry Wilson became the youngest player ever to represent Wales, coming on as a second half substitute at the age of 16 years 207 days.
James Wilson also won his first cap at the Stade Roi Baudouin whilst Chris Gunter won his 50th cap and Craig Bellamy his 78th and final cap.
Players used during qualifying
Wales used a total of 33 players during the qualifying campaign with Chris Gunter the only player to have played every minute of every game.
Ben Davies, Declan John, Jonathan Williams, Harry Wilson and James Wilson made their debuts during the campaign.
Chris Gunter won his 50th cap in the final game against Belgium whilst Craig Bellamy won his 78th and final cap in the same game.
James Collins became the 16th player to be sent off whilst playing for Wales following his red card in the opening game against Belgium.
| Player | BEL | SRB | SCO | CRO | SCO | CRO | MKD | SRB | MKD | BEL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Allen | 71 | 90 | 90 | |||||||
| Gareth Bale | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 45 | 90 | 32 | |||
| Craig Bellamy | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | ||||
| Darcy Blake | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | ||||||
| Simon Church | 72 | 90 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 89 | 70 | |||
| James Collins | 26  | 90 | 90 | 57 | ||||||
| Jack Collison | 58 | 79 | ||||||||
| Andrew Crofts | 28 | 58 | ||||||||
| Ben Davies | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | ||||
| Craig Davies | 23 | |||||||||
| Jermaine Easter | 1 | |||||||||
| David Edwards | 80 | 45 | ||||||||
| Danny Gabbidon | 90 | |||||||||
| Chris Gunter | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| Wayne Hennessey | 90 | 90 | ||||||||
| Declan John | 90 | |||||||||
| Andy King | 10 | 19 | 72 | 32 | 84 | 58 | 90 | 90 | ||
| Joe Ledley | 72 | 82 | 89 | 90 | 90 | 75 | ||||
| Adam Matthews | 90 | 45 | 21 | 90 | ||||||
| Boaz Myhill | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | ||||
| Steve Morison | 72 | 90 | 66 | 61 | ||||||
| Lewis Price | 90 | 90 | ||||||||
| Aaron Ramsey | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | |||
| Ashley Richards | 26 | 90 | ||||||||
| Sam Ricketts | 45 | 90 | 90 | |||||||
| Hal Robson-Kanu | 18 | 18 | 8 | 90 | 64 | 15 | 90 | 87 | ||
| Neil Taylor | 90 | 90 | ||||||||
| David Vaughan | 45 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 32 | 90 | 90 | |||
| Sam Vokes | 18 | 28 | 5 | 90 | 20 | |||||
| Ashley Williams | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | |||
| Jonathan Williams | 45 | 90 | 62 | |||||||
| Harry Wilson | 3 | |||||||||
| James Wilson | 33 |
1Of the 207 countries who entered, Bahamas and Mauritius withdrew without playing a single match.
