England vs. Wales football history: Head to head record, all-time results, trophies won by British soccer rivals

Dom Farrell

England vs. Wales football history: Head to head record, all-time results, trophies won by British soccer rivals image

England and Wales boast one of the longest-running rivalries in international football.

The neighbouring British countries have not gone head-to-head for as long as England and Scotland, who played the first international football match in Glasgow in 1872, but they still have a great shared history.

Scotland and England shared four more fixtures before Wales made their first visit to Hamilton Crescent for a 4-0 defeat in March 1876. 

Almost three more years passed before Wales had their first match against England, a 2-1 defeat at Kennington Oval in January 1879.

Although the England-Scotland rivalry carries greater historical heft and enmity, Wales vs. England games have contained their fair share of memorable moments and, in the 21st century, Cymru has posed by far the most sustained challenge to the Three Lions' status as the best international team from the British Isles.

The Sporting News looks at the results of their previous meetings.

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England vs. Wales football history: Head to head record, all-time results

England have the dominant record in the head-to-head, with 67 wins in 102 matches overall. Wales have 14 wins, with 21 matches finishing in draws.

Wales' most recent victory came in the final edition of the British Home Nations Championship, when former Manchester United striker Mark Hughes headed the only goal at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham.

It means England are on a run of seven consecutive wins, including a 2-1 triumph from behind in the group stages of Euro 2016.

Gareth Bale caught out England goalkeeper Joe Hart with a long-range free-kick late in the first half. Jamie Vardy snaffled an equaliser and fellow substitute Daniel Sturridge dispatched a stoppage-time winner.

Wales had the last laugh at the tournament in France, however, as Chris Coleman's Bale-inspired side plotted a path to the semifinals. England, meanwhile, were humiliated in a last-16 exit against Iceland. The Wales game proved to be their only win in four games in those Euros.

There was a little more distance between the teams in their most recent major-tournament meeting. Marcus Rashford scored either side of a Phil Foden strike as England ran out 3-0 winners in the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Getty Images

England vs. Wales: Who has won the most trophies?

In terms of major international trophies, this is a fairly straightforward one. England's triumph at the 1966 World Cup is the only one either country has in its cabinet.

The 2022 tournament in Qatar was the first time England and Wales had both made the World Cup since 1958. In a foreshadowing of their Euro 2016 woes, England did not make it out of the group in Sweden. Wales managed to reach the knockout stages but lost 1-0 to eventual champions Brazil, a teenage Pele scoring his first World Cup goal.

The bulk of the competitive meetings between England and Wales came in the British Home Nations Championship, the oldest international tournament in football, which started in the 1883/84 season and was contested annually for the next century, notwithstanding interruptions for the First and Second World Wars.

England were the most successful Home Nations team, claiming 54 wins overall and 34 outright. Wales won the title 12 times, with seven of those outright.

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England vs. Wales biggest ever wins, defeats

England's biggest win in the fixture came all the way back in 1896, when they won 9-1 away from home at Cardiff Arms Park. Steve Bloomer scored five of the visitors' goals.

Wales have never won the fixture by more than a two-goal margin, meaning their second ever victory over England — 5-3 at the Racecourse Ground in 1882 — remains their best.

Dom Farrell

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.