S
SEARCH
M
SM
Saturday, June 6
Collect News Data
/esi/1339/6_A_1_394523_0/index.html?art_id=394523&ESI

A look at four famous Wales matches held in Swansea

:Headline: A look at four famous Wales matches held in Swansea:
The Vetch Field and Liberty Stadium have both staged international matches in the city.

Wales were regular visitors to Swansea during the 1970s and 1980s with games played at the old Vetch Field.

Swansea's new Liberty Stadium home staged its first Wales fixture in 2005, but has not hosted the national team since 2013.

Here, the PA news agency looks at four famous Wales games played in Swansea.

Best practice

George Best made his international debut for Northern Ireland against Wales in Swansea (PA)

The 1964 British Home Championship match against Northern Ireland on April 15 was probably the most famous Wales game to be played at the Vetch for one reason.

George Best was still a month away from his 18th birthday when he made his international debut in a 3-2 victory for Northern Ireland.

Ron Davies and Brian Godfrey were on target for Wales, while Martin Harvey, Samuel Wilson and James McLaughlin scored for Northern Ireland.

But Best was already making a name for himself at Manchester United and everyone turned up to see him play.

Floodlight failure

Wales were in the hunt for a place at the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain after winning their opening four group games.

But then the floodlights failed during Iceland's visit to the Vetch on October 14, 1981.

Wales were leading 1-0 when the lights went out, and after play eventually resumed Iceland came back to draw 2-2 and dash Welsh qualification hopes.

Czechoslovakia took the second qualifying spot from Wales on goal difference. The Vetch Field finally closed for business in 2005.

Rising stars

Gareth Bale scores for Wales against Switzerland at Swansea in October 2011 (David Jones/PA)

After a Vetch farewell in 1988, Wales made a low-key return to Swansea in 2005 and 2006 with goalless friendly draws against Slovenia and Bulgaria.

The Liberty Stadium did not prove a happy hunting ground until Switzerland were beaten 2-0 in a Euro 2012 qualifier on October 7, 2011.

Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale were the scorers on a night that hinted at the potential of a squad that would eventually reach the semi-finals of Euro 2016.

Alas, it was manager Gary Speed's penultimate match on home soil as the former Leeds, Newcastle and Everton midfielder died the following month.

Modric masterclass

Croatia's Luka Modric was the star of the show in the last Wales game to be played at Swansea in 2013 (Mike Egerton/PA)

Wales' last visit to Swansea was for a 2014 World Cup qualifier against Croatia on March 26, 2013.

Chris Coleman's side had beaten Scotland home and away, but defeats to Belgium, Serbia and Croatia had left them out of the qualification reckoning.

Wales gave a good account of themselves against star-studded opposition and led through Bale's first-half penalty.

But Croatia – inspired by a midfield masterclass from Real Madrid's Luka Modric levelled through Dejan Lovren before Eduardo struck the winner three minutes from time.

body check tags ::

amp_article_394523 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2020-03-27 18:03:42:
html db last update - 2020-06-05 11:43:16 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Share this article now:
Show comments

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
Swansea hoping to host another Wales game soon after friendly cancelled
Timo Werner: A coup for Chelsea, but a costly mistake for Liverpool, Man Utd
Barcelona to open talks with Messi this month?
Man Utd 'considering move for Man City's Sterling'
Championship Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds37218856302671
2West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom371913564372770
3Fulham371810952381464
4Brentford371791164333160
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest371612948381060
6Preston North EndPreston37168135045556
7Bristol City371510125153-255
8Millwall37131594440454
9Cardiff CityCardiff37131595250254
10Blackburn RoversBlackburn371411125245753
11Swansea CitySwansea371314104645153
12Derby CountyDerby371312124949051
13Queens Park RangersQPR37148155862-450
14Reading37139154642448
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds37139154649-348
16Birmingham CityBirmingham371211144857-947
17Stoke CityStoke37126194955-642
18Huddersfield TownHuddersfield37119174558-1342
19Middlesbrough37914143747-1041
20Wigan AthleticWigan371011163850-1241
21Hull City37118184963-1441
22Charlton AthleticCharlton37109184454-1039
23Luton TownLuton37105224371-2835
24Barnsley37810194262-2034
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29271166214582
2Manchester CityMan City28183768313757
3Leicester CityLeicester29165858283053
4Chelsea29146951391248
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd29129844301445
6Wolverhampton WanderersWolves29101364134743
7Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd28111073025543
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs29118104740741
9Arsenal2891364036440
10Burnley29116123440-639
11Crystal Palace29109102632-639
12Everton29107123746-937
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2998122541-1635
14Southampton29104153552-1734
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton29611123240-829
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2976163550-1527
17Watford2969142744-1727
18Bournemouth2976162947-1827
19Aston Villa2874173456-2225
20Norwich CityNorwich2956182552-2721
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.