Wales national under-21 football team

The Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years. To date Wales haven't yet qualified for the finals tournament but in recent years have shown good form, losing in a playoff (5–4) to England in the 2009 qualifying campaign and finishing second in their group two years later, after leading their group until their last game Wales only needed a draw to qualify for the play-offs but lost 1–0 away to Italy.

Wales Under-21
Nickname(s)Young Dragons
AssociationFootball Association of Wales
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachPaul Bodin
Most capsShaun MacDonald (25)
Top scorerChed Evans (13)
FIFA codeWAL
First colours
Second colours
First international
 England 0–0 Wales 
(Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton; 15 December 1976)
Biggest win
 Wales 6–2 Cyprus 
(Ninian Park, Cardiff; 22 October 1993)
&
 Wales 5–1 Luxembourg 
(Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli; 31 March 2009)
Biggest defeat
 Italy 8–1 Wales 
(Stadio Pietro Fortunati, Pavia; 5 September 2003)
UEFA U-21 Championship
AppearancesNone (first in n/a)
Best result1st of 5 in qual.
group, 2009. Lost in play off.

The under-21 team came into existence following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976. A goalless draw in a friendly against England at Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux Stadium was Wales U21s' first result.

The national under-21 team is the highest level of youth football in Wales, and is open to any players who were born in Wales or whose parents or grandparents were born in Wales. This team is for Welsh players aged 21 or under at the start of a two-year European Under-21 Football Championship campaign, so players can be, and often are, up to 23 years old. Also in existence are teams for Under-20s (for non-UEFA tournaments), Under-19s and Under 17s. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side and again for the U21s.

Recent history

Historically the team was viewed by the Welsh national management as a hole to be filled rather than a team to be used to nurture young international players. Many of the great Welsh players spent little time in the under-21 team. Ryan Giggs only made one appearance for the under-21 team before making his senior debut against Germany the next day.

From 2004 onward however, the former Wales national football team manager John Toshack and former Wales Under 21 manager Brian Flynn used the under-21 team to create a pool of youthful Welsh talent. The team now has a much better tracking system of young Welsh players, and has seen a marked improvement in players and team results. Recent results have seen them achieve big wins against Estonia (5–1), Northern Ireland (4–0) and France (4–2).

Some of the players who have made the step from the U21s to attain over 25 caps for the senior squad are Lewin Nyatanga, Joe Ledley, Chris Gunter, Gareth Bale, Sam Vokes, Simon Church, Wayne Hennessey, David Vaughan, Andrew Crofts, David Edwards, Andy King, Aaron Ramsey, Neil Taylor and Joe Allen.

On 15 May 2008, they played a friendly against England U21s to mark the 100th match in the history of the side, losing 2–0.

A 3–0 victory against Romania in September 2008 meant that the Under-21 side finished top of their qualifying group for the first time in their history. It meant Wales would go into a two-legged play-off against England in October 2008 for a place in the finals of the 2009 UEFA Under-21 Championship to be played in Sweden. Wales lost the playoff 5–4 over the course of two legs. Losing 3–2 at home in the first leg and drawing 2–2 away in the second.

Wales started their qualifying campaign for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship with a 1–0 away win against Andorra, a 3–1 away loss against Montenegro, a 1–0 home win against Montenegro, a 1–0 home defeat against Czech Republic and a 0–0 away draw against Armenia.

In May 2012 Brian Flynn vacated his position as Wales under-21 manager at the end of his contract and in July 2012 Geraint Williams was appointed team manager [1] Williams resigned as team manager on 5 December 2016. On 15 March 2017 it was announced that former Port Vale and Northampton Town manager Rob Page had left his position on the coaching staff at Nottingham Forest to become Wales under-21 manager. In August 2019 Page was appointed assistant coach to the senior Wales squad under Ryan Giggs with Paul Bodin stepping up from the Under 19's to manage the Under 21 team.[2]

Players

Latest squad

Players born on or after 1 January 1998 are eligible for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Wales squad for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against Moldova on 13 November 2020 and Germany on 17 November 2020.[3]

Caps and goals as of 17 November 2020. Players in bold have attained full international caps. Clubs as of the date of the announcement.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
12 1GK Adam Przybek (2000-04-02) 2 April 2000 3 0 Chesterfield (on loan from Ipswich Town)
1 1GK George Ratcliffe (2000-09-12) 12 September 2000 6 0 Cardiff City
21 1GK Lewis Webb (2001-09-12) 12 September 2001 0 0 Swansea City
2 2DF Cameron Coxe (1998-12-18) 18 December 1998 16 0 Solihull Moors
6 2DF Brandon Cooper (2000-01-14) 14 January 2000 9 0 Swansea City
5 2DF Regan Poole (1998-06-18) 18 June 1998 23 0 Lincoln City
14 2DF Joe Lewis (1999-09-20) 20 September 1999 1 0 Swansea City
13 2DF Aaron Lewis (1998-06-26) 26 June 1998 13 1 Lincoln City
3 2DF Morgan Boyes (2001-04-22) 22 April 2001 4 0 Liverpool
4 3MF Terry Taylor (2001-06-21) 21 June 2001 4 1 Burton Albion
16 3MF Sam Bowen (2001-01-14) 14 January 2001 1 0 Cardiff City
15 3MF Ryan Stirk (2000-09-25) 25 September 2000 4 0 Birmingham City
8 3MF Harry Clifton (1998-06-12) 12 June 1998 6 0 Grimsby Town
9 3MF Luke Jephcott (2000-01-26) 26 January 2000 3 0 Plymouth Argyle
17 3MF Oliver Cooper (1999-12-14) 14 December 1999 4 0 Swansea City
10 3MF Siôn Spence (2000-11-02) 2 November 2000 3 0 Crystal Palace
20 4FW Mark Harris (1998-12-29) 29 December 1998 19 3 Cardiff City
18 4FW Momodou Touray (1999-07-03) 3 July 1999 6 1 Marine (on loan from Salford City)
11 4FW Liam Cullen (1999-04-23) 23 April 1999 11 1 Swansea City
7 4FW Nathan Broadhead (1998-04-05) 5 April 1998 17 2 Everton
19 4FW Joe Adams (2001-02-13) 13 February 2001 1 0 Brentford

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Wales under-21 squad and remain eligible. Players in bold have caps for the senior team.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Kelland Absalom (1998-05-21) 21 May 1998 1 0 Merthyr Town v.  Albania, 11 June 2019
DF Ryan Astley (2001-10-04) 4 October 2001 0 0 Everton v.  Belgium, 9 October 2020
DF Rhys Norrington-Davies (1999-04-22) 22 April 1999 14 0 Stoke City (on loan from Sheffield United) v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 19 November 2019
DF Ben Williams (1999-03-31) 31 March 1999 0 0 Barnsley v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 19 November 2019
DF Ben Cabango (2000-05-30) 30 May 2000 5 0 Swansea City v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 19 November 2019
DF Cole DaSilva (1999-03-31) 31 March 1999 0 0 Unattached v.  Germany, 10 September 2019
DF Rhys Abbruzzese (1998-03-23) 23 March 1998 3 0 Barry Town United v.  Liechtenstein, 5 October 2017
MF James Waite (1999-05-11) 11 May 1999 2 0 Cardiff City v.  Belgium, 9 October 2020
MF Lewis Collins (2001-05-09) 9 May 2001 0 0 Newport County v.  Belgium, 9 October 2020
MF Sam Pearson (1999-12-14) 14 December 1999 1 0 Bristol City v.  Belgium, 9 October 2020
MF Daniel Williams (2001-04-19) 19 April 2001 1 0 Swansea City v.  Belgium, 9 October 2020
MF Robbie Burton (1999-12-26) 26 December 1999 9 0 Dinamo Zagreb v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 4 September 2020
MF Jack Evans (1998-04-25) 25 April 1998 13 0 Newport County v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 4 September 2020
MF Brennan Johnson (2001-05-23) 23 May 2001 4 2 Lincoln City (on loan from Nottingham Forest) v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 4 September 2020
MF Dan Mooney (1999-07-03) 3 July 1999 4 0 Altrincham v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 19 November 2019
MF Kieran Evans (1999-03-27) 27 March 1999 2 0 Unattached v.  Moldova, 11 October 2019
MF Dylan Levitt (2000-11-17) 17 November 2000 1 0 Manchester United v.  Moldova, 11 October 2019
MF Tom Price (1999-11-26) 26 November 1999 1 0 Cardiff Metropolitan University v.  Albania, 11 June 2019
MF Alex Babos (1998-01-21) 21 January 1998 7 0 Alfreton Town v.  Albania, 11 June 2019
MF Tom Pugh (2000-09-27) 27 September 2000 2 1 Scunthorpe United v.  Albania, 11 June 2019
MF Matthew Smith (1999-11-22) 22 November 1999 5 1 Doncaster Rovers (on loan from Manchester City) v.  Romania, 14 November 2017
FW Ben Woodburn (1999-09-15) 15 September 1999 0 0 Liverpool) V.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 4 September 2020
FW Jack Vale (2001-03-03) 3 March 2001 1 0 Blackburn Rovers V.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 4 September 2020
FW Niall Huggins (2000-12-18) 18 December 2000 1 0 Leeds United v.  Germany, 10 September 2019
Key
  • SUS = Suspended for next match.
  • WD = Withdrew from the squad.
  • SEN = Called up to senior squad.
  • INJ = Withdrew from the squad due to injury.

See also

References
  1. Williams appointed to Wales Under 21
  2. Bodin appointed under 21 manager
  3. Wales U21 squad
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