LONDON -- Wales suffered the most humiliating soccer defeat in its history Wednesday, losing 5-0 to first-time entrant Georgia in qualifying for the 1996 European Championship.


The loss, coupled with a 3-2 defeat last month in another former Soviet republic, Moldova, all but closed the door on Welsh hopes for qualifying for the finals. Though it is still early in the tournament, Wales must play four of its seven remaining games against group favorites Germany and Bulgaria.


"The players and myself are ashamed," Wales manager Mike Smith said. "We should have done a lot better than that. How can I sum up a game like that? They were far better than us."


In numerical terms, it was Wales' biggest defeat since a 6-1 loss to France in 1953. Georgia, which is playing in the Europeans for the first time since gaining independence, scored its first goals and earned its first points in the competition. The team previously lost to Moldova and Bulgaria.


Although Smith could not call upon Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs, who missed the game through injury, his strikeforce had another United star, Mark Hughes, as well as Liverpool's Ian Rush and Dean Saunders of Aston Villa, some of Europe's most feared strikers.


But it was the Welsh defense that was repeatedly torn apart by Georgia's swift forwards. Temoliz Ketsbaia netted twice, and other goals came from Georgi Kinkladze, Gocha Gogrichiani and Shota Arveladze in front of the joyous 25,000 fans at Dinamo Stadium in Tbilisi.


Thirty-four other teams were in action later Wednesday in the eight qualifying groups.