Cymru fell to a 3-0 home defeat against Germany in their final U19 EURO preparatory tournament fixture in north Wales on Tuesday.
Goals from Jamie Schudles, Jykese Fields and Otto Stange were enough to hand Cymru their first loss of the tournament.
Germany, three-time winners of the competition, made an assertive start in Denbigh, creating several early chances. They took the lead on 20 minutes after Cymru failed to clear their lines, with Schudles finding space to unleash a powerful strike that flew beyond goalkeeper Luis Lines.
The visitors doubled their advantage just five minutes later. Following some neat build-up play down the right, Montrell Culbreath picked out the well-timed run of Fields inside the box, who rose highest among the Welsh defence to power home a header.
Despite conceding twice in quick succession, Cymru went close shortly before half-time. Charlie Walker-Smith’s low cross was missed by Gentles, before Cruz Allen fired his effort well wide of the target.
Cymru began the second half strongly, creating several chances within the opening few minutes. Allen and substitute Adam Brett both saw efforts flash wide as Knight’s side pushed forward.
The hosts made a number of changes in search of a late breakthrough. With ten minutes remaining, a long ball from Harlan Perry released Brett, who showed great pace but could only drive his effort wide.
Despite a positive second-half display, Germany sealed the win late on. Schudles’ long-field pass found the run of Stange, who showed great composure to stand up Ieastyn Jones before placing a finish beyond Lines to seal the win.
