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Sunday, September 29, 2024

The Soccernostalgia Interview-Part 98- A video Interview and blog presentation with Welsh Football fan, Mr. Gareth Hughes, discussing Wales during the World Cup 1982 qualifiers.

 





For this interview, I look back at Wales’ 1982 World Cup qualification campaign.

 

The Interview will be as a video link companion, while the Blog will be a presentation of the events.

The Interviewee is:

Welsh Football fan, Mr. Gareth Hughes

 

Mr. Hughes’ contact info:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gareth.hughes.37604

Twitter: @pontblyddyn

 

 

My contact information:

on twitter @sp1873 and on Facebook under Soccernostalgia.

https://linktr.ee/sp1873

 

Listen on Spotify / Apple:

 https://open.spotify.com/episode/311RGFZrtXNuJ8loXWNyto?si=0GxS-ImCQd65Km3bLidJng&nd=1&dlsi=d2cac5618f2a446d

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-soccernostalgia-interview-part-97-a-video/id1601074369?i=1000671226335

 

YouTube Link:

 

Blog Link:
















Wales 1982 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

 

As Wales prepared to participate in the 1982 World Cup qualifiers, it had been more than two decades since they had been present in the Finals of a major Tournament. To be precise, not since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden and the days of John Charles.

 

Former Wales National Team defender Mike England was appointed in March 1980 and his first major test were these qualifiers.

Wales were to be in a group with the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Iceland, and Turkey.

The Soviets and Czechoslovaks were experienced campaigners with many Tournament participations in the previous years and decades and were naturally favored to advance.

Mike England had the 1980 Home Championship to try out his final experiments before their first qualifying match against Iceland in June 1980.

The Home Championships started well but ended in disappointment. These included the epic (4-1) win over England on May 17, 1980, followed by (0-1) losses to Scotland (May 21, 1980) and Northern Ireland (May 23, 1980, at Cardiff).

In the match against Scotland, new Liverpool striker Ian Rush became the second youngest Welsh cap at the age of 18 years and 214 days.

Wales had a backbone that included goalkeeper Dai Davies, Captain and future National Team manager Terry Yorath, Peter Nicholas, Joey Jones, Paul Price, David Giles, Ian Walsh, Brian Flynn, Leighton James, Mickey Thomas, and Leighton Phillips, among others.

 

The 1982 World Cup qualifiers started on June 2, 1980, with Iceland hosting the Welsh at Reykjavik. It would be a comfortable (4-0) win for Wales with Ian Walsh scoring twice, along with David Giles and a penalty kick by Flynn.

In the Autumn of 1980, Wales played its second qualifier at home at Cardiff on October 15, 1980, against Turkey. It would be another comfortable (4-0) win with Brian Flynn opening the scoring, followed by a penalty kick by Leighton James, who would also score the fourth goal and Ian Walsh.

Wales’s first major test was against Czechoslovakia on November 19, 1980, at Cardiff.

David Giles’s ninth minute goal was sufficient for Wales to register its third straight win and top the group. At this point, they had a realistic hope of qualification.

 

In the new year 1981, Wales continued its winning streak. They played a friendly on February 24, 1981, at Dublin, and defeated Republic of Ireland (3-1).

On March 25, 1981, Wales traveled to Ankara to face Turkey in their next qualifier. The Welsh earned their fourth straight win with a (1-0) win with a Carl Harris strike,

The World Cup dream in Spain seemed closer and closer.

Ahead of their next qualifier, Wales participated in the 1981 Home Championship. On May 16, 1981, at Swansea, they defeated Scotland (2-0). This was followed by a scoreless tie against England at Wembley on May 20, 1981.

Welsh faced the toughest opponent in the group, the Soviet Union at Wrexham on May 30, 1981. The match ended in a scoreless tie and perhaps this was the first major setback in their quest. A win would surely have qualified the Welsh.

They nevertheless seemed in a good position with nine points and no goals conceded up to that point.


Photo From: Mondial, new series, issue 16, July 1981

(May 30, 1981, World Cup Qualifier, Wales 0-USSR 0)



Photo From: Official Match Programme, England v Northern Ireland, 1984

(May 30, 1981, World Cup Qualifier, Wales 0-USSR 0)



Photo From: World Soccer, July 1981

(May 30, 1981, World Cup Qualifier, Wales 0-USSR 0)



It all started to fall apart for the Welsh in the Autumn of 1981. On September 9, 1981, Wales traveled to Prague and were defeated (0-2) by Czechoslovakia.

The Czechoslovaks were now a point behind with one less match and the Soviets still had five more matches to play.


Photo From: Start 1981 №39, Septembra 28, 1981

(September 9, 1981, World Cup Qualifier, Czechoslovakia 2-Wales 0)



Photo From: Start 1981 №39, Septembra 28, 1981

(September 9, 1981, World Cup Qualifier, Czechoslovakia 2-Wales 0)



Wales missed their best opportunity by failing to defeat Iceland at home, at Swansea, on October 14, 1981.

The match ended as a (2-2) tie against an opponent they had soundly defeated over a year before at Reykjavik.

This was a costly point dropped and Czechoslovakia and the Soviets would make up the ground.

In fact, when it came to Wales’s last match of the qualifiers, the Soviets had taken the leadership of the group with two matches to spare, with Wales just behind.

On November 18, 1981, at Tbilisi, the Soviets defeated the Welsh (3-0). At this point, Wales’s’ destiny was out of their hands. There remained one more match in the group with Czechoslovakia hosting the Soviets at Bratislava on November 29, 1981.

The Czechoslovaks had a superior goal difference to Wales and a tie would be sufficient to edge ahead of Wales on goal difference.

Czechoslovakia did just that by getting a (1-1) tie and qualified for the World Cup ahead of Wales.

Wales had come so close but were eliminated by two quality sides like USSR and Czechoslovakia.

There was much regret for not winning at home against Iceland and this ultimately doomed them.

They could look forward to future Tournaments, however, they did not build up on these relatively successful qualifiers and stagnated for the coming decades.

 

 

Wales players during the qualification matches

 

Goalkeepers:

William David ‘Dai’ Davies (Wrexham Football Club / Wales, registered in English League) and from 1981/82, (Swansea City Football Club / Wales, registered in English League) (April 1, 1948, Glanaman, Wales-February 10, 2021) (8 Matches)

 

Defenders:

Joseph Patrick Jones (Wrexham Football Club / Wales, registered in English League) (March 4, 1955, Llandudno, Wales) (7 Matches, substituted in 1 match)

Paul Terence Price (Luton Town Football Club / England), from 1981/82, (Tottenham Hotspur Football Club-London / England) (March 23, 1954, St Albans, Hertfordshire, England) (6 Matches)

Peter Nicholas (Crystal Palace Football Club-London / England) from 1981, (Arsenal Football Club-London / England) (November 10, 1959, Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales) (8 Matches)

Leighton Phillips (Swansea City Football Club / Wales, registered in English League) from 1981/82, (Charlton Athletic Football Club-London / England) (September 25, 1949, Neath, Wales) (7 Matches, substituted in 1 match)

Kevin Ratcliffe (Everton Football Club-Liverpool / England) (November 12, 1960, Mancot, Wales) (6 Matches)

 

Midfielders:

Brian Flynn (Leeds United Association Football Club / England) (October 12, 1955, Port Talbot, Glamorgan, Wales) (7 Matches)

Leighton James (Swansea City Football Club / Wales, registered in English League) (February 16, 1953, Loughor, Swansea, Wales) (6 Matches)

Terence Charles Yorath (Tottenham Hotspur Football Club-London / England) from 1981, (Vancouver Whitecaps / Canada) (March 27, 1950, Grangetown, Cardiff, Wales) (5 Matches, substituted in 1 match)

William Byron Stevenson (Leeds United Association Football Club / England) (September 7, 1956, Llanelli, Wales-September 6, 2007) (2 Matches and came on as substitute in 1 match)

David Charles Giles (Swansea City Football Club / Wales, registered in English League) (September 21, 1956, Cardiff, Wales) (5 Matches, substituted in 2 matches and came on as substitute in 2 matches)

Carl Stephen Harris (Leeds United Association Football Club / England) (November 3, 1956, Neath, Wales) (7 Matches, substituted in 3 matches and came on as substitute in 2 matches)

John Francis Mahoney (Swansea City Football Club / Wales, registered in English League) (September 20, 1946, Cardiff, Wales) (2 Matches, substituted in 1 match)

 

Strikers:

Michael Reginald ‘Mickey’ Thomas (Manchester United Football Club / England), September 1981, (Everton Football Club-Liverpool / England) and November 1981, (Brighton Hove and Albion Football Club / England) (July 7, 1954, Loughor, Mochdre, Wales) (4 Matches, substituted in 1 match and came on as substitute in 1 match)

Robert Mark James (Swansea City Football Club / Wales, registered in English League) (March 23, 1957, Swansea, Wales-February 18, 1998, Llanelli, Wales) (2 Matches and came on as substitute in 1 match)

Ian Patrick Walsh (Crystal Palace Football Club-London / England) (September 4, 1958, St David's, Wales) (7 Matches, substituted in 2 matches and came on as substitute in 1 match)

Gordon John Davies (Fulham Football Club-London / England) (August 3, 1955, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales) (1 Match and he was substituted in it)

Jeremy Melvyn Charles (Swansea City Football Club / Wales, registered in English League) (September 26, 1959, Swansea, Wales) (4 Matches and came on as substitute in 2 matches)

Alan Thomas Curtis (Swansea City Football Club / Wales, registered in English League) (April 16, 1954, Pentre, Rhondda, Wales) (3 Matches)

Ian James Rush (Liverpool Football Club / England) (October 20, 1961, St Asaph, Wales) (2 Matches and came on as substitute in 1 match)

Stephen John Lovell (Crystal Palace Football Club-London / England) (July 16, 1960, Swansea, Wales) (1 Matches and he came on as substitute in that match)

 

Coach: Harold Michael England (December 2, 1941, Holywell, Flintshire, Wales)


Photos From:
Panini England 1977/78 (Joey Jones, Leighton Phillips)
Panini England 1980/81 (Curtis, Harris, Yorath)
Panini England 1981/82 (Flynn, Giles, Charles, Leighton James, Mahoney, Price, Ratcliffe, Robbie James, Stevenson, Mickey Thomas, Nicholas)
Panini England 1983/84 (Rush)
Panini England 1986/87 (Gordon Davies)
FKS 74-75 (Mike England)
FKS 75-76 (Dai Davies)
FKS 80-81 (Ian Walsh)

Missing (Stephen John Lovell)





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