Cymru MU19 head coach Chris Gunter believes the application and attitude of his squad can lead to a successful campaign as they head to Scotland for their UEFA qualifying Group 5 fixtures (13-19 November).
“It was something I mentioned in the very first meeting we had with them,” explained Gunter to FAW.cymru. “That we’re representing our country and our application and our attitude is really important. They’ve been first class, I couldn’t fault any of them and they’ve been hugely impressive in that aspect. Also, the ability and the standards that they’ve shown in training and in games has been really pleasing. It makes me really proud to coach them.”
Cymru start their qualifying campaign against hosts Scotland on Wednesday, 13 November (3pm) before taking on the challenge of France on Saturday, 16 November and Liechtenstein on Tuesday, 19 November (both 7.30pm). The opening two games take place at the Forthbank Stadium in Stirling before completing the mini-tournament at Cappielow Park, Greenock.
“It’s a great challenge for us,” Gunter added. “We have three different opponents and three different styles in how they play. The Scotland game will be one where we have to manage our emotions in the first game against the hosts of the group, so that’s a great opportunity for us to show some maturity on that side. Obviously, France will be a very strong team of course, and then the third one which brings its own challenges as well because it’s at the end of a really busy 10 day period.”
A Cymru legend, Gunter made 109 appearances for his country in a 15-year senior international career, including the finals of three major tournaments. The first player in the history of the men’s national team to reach 100 caps, Gunter played every minute of every match as Cymru defied the odds to reach the semi-finals at EURO 2016, but he also represented Cymru at U17, U19 and U21 level, and believes those experiences will be key to this latest chapter of his career.
“One of the things I’ve tried to do is help and guide them in a certain way because there’s probably not many emotions that they have as players at this age that I didn’t experience myself,” he explained. “Any help or advice I can give them to improve, I think I’m in a decent place to do that, and it’s an age group where there are a lot of things going on in terms of your club and and trying to break through into older age groups or the senior team. There’s a lot thrown at them at this age.”
The former defender called time on his playing career in March 2023 and is currently completing his UEFA Pro-Licence. He recently worked alongside former Cymru head coach Rob Page with the senior team before taking up this new role in August. “I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said. “There’s a really good staff in place, which has been a huge help to me, and the group of players that have been with me across the two camps so far have been excellent.”
Gunter’s first MU19 camp took place in September in Pinatar, Spain as the side drew 2-2 with Turkmenistan before claiming a comprehensive 3-0 win over Azerbaijan two days later. However, it was the second camp at Santarcangelo di Romagna in Italy that made headlines as a 3-3 draw against the hosts was followed by an impressive 4-3 victory in the return match.
Highly-rated Manchester United youngster Gabriele Biancheri (above) scored from the penalty spot in both games against the Italians, and Gunter believes that success will serve the side well in Scotland. “They should take great pride and confidence from the performances in Italy,” he added. “They weren’t just two results where we were fortunate to come out on the right side.
“We were leading for large parts of both games and we matched them in most areas. Obviously, the results were fantastic and the actual overall outcome of it was really good, but the most pleasing thing for me was the actual performances in the two games. If they did need any confidence for these upcoming games, then they’ve now got some evidence to back that up.
“I see it as a really important job and one that I’m really proud to do. It’s the greatest honour in football to represent your country and I’ve loved every minute of it so far. Obviously, with Craig [Bellamy] coming into the senior team role now, he’s been really influential for the younger age groups too. But also I’m working with good people right the way through the whole association as well, which is a big thing for me in terms of the support that we get from the very top.”
