Cymru Under-21 manager Matty Jones believes that building momentum will be crucial for his team as they approach their final warm-up match before their 2027 UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign.
The young Welsh Dragons will face Norway on Friday, 6 June, at 3pm BST in Marbella—a match Jones views as an essential test ahead of the upcoming qualifiers.
Cymru will look to carry the confidence from their strong performances in the March international window, where they secured a 1-0 win over Andorra and a 1-1 draw with Sweden—both matches also held in Spain.
For Jones, momentum has been a key factor in previous successes, and he is confident that the experiences gained from the previous campaign, along with recent fixtures, will be vital heading into the qualifiers.
“Momentum is key,” he explains. “It showed in the last campaign where we were hugely successful. The process we went through prior—putting the right foundations in place, selecting the right players to compete in those friendlies against Colombia, Scotland, and Austria—was crucial.
“It gave us the confidence to take that belief into the campaign. That bodes really well for this camp. Having the friendly against Andorra and Sweden, and having success both on and off the pitch, I’m expecting the same next week. It’s not just about off-pitch behaviours and getting the environment right for the players. It’s about allowing them to express themselves and perform to the best of their abilities.
“But ultimately, I’m not afraid to say it: we’re there to compete, and we’re there to win games. Whatever the game, we’re there to challenge everyone.
“There’s a real sense of belief in what we can achieve, and with the right preparation, we’re ready to take on whatever comes next.”
Earlier this week, Jones named a 21-player squad for the friendly in Spain, which includes Lewys Benjamin, Joel Cotterill, Cian Ashford, Kai Andrews, Sam Parker, Dylan Lawlor, Rhys Thomas, and Luey Giles—each of whom recently participated in Craig Bellamy’s senior team training camp.
While Benjamin, Cotterill, Ashford, and Giles have all already represented the Under-21s, 12 players in the squad are uncapped at this level.
Jones sees this as a testament to the strength of Welsh football’s development system and is optimistic about the future of the game in Wales.
“It’s always been important to me to include players early, just like Craig has done with the EFL camp. It’s no different from our mentality as younger age group coaches,” says Jones.
“I think everyone associated with the intermediate groups, all the youth teams, is super proud to see the success of those players being integrated into the EFL, and it’s the senior camp led by Craig Bellamy and his first-team staff. It was a huge success, and I was around for most of it.
“Seeing the plaudits and accolades that the players received from the staff and how they integrated with the first-team players, it was never in question.
“It’s about providing the right pathway for the players and making sure that we’re giving the right opportunities to the right players. We go through extreme audits with our recruitment teams and coaching staff to put action plans in place.
“For me, there’s nothing more exciting than seeing young blood come through, knowing the abilities and talents we have in the system. I don’t think Welsh football can be in a better place right now. It’s really powerful in terms of the players coming through, and that bodes well for the future of Welsh football. It allows us to compete at every age group as well.”
The match against Norway, on paper, represents an important final test before the qualification campaign kicks off. However, Jones remains calm and focused, noting that this squad has had a rare opportunity to prepare without the usual fixture congestion or last-minute changes that often complicate international windows.
“I’m feeling rather calm going into our final camp,” Jones admits. “It’s not normal to have these emotions going into camp because, as you know, we’re always coming off the back of a fixture weekend, 24 hours to change, bringing players off standby and going through uncontrollable circumstances.
“So, it’s quite nice in this June window that we haven’t got those issues. Seeing the players have success in the EFL camp last week and managing to get one or two players in over the last week has been excellent. It really puts us in a great position going into camp knowing there’s no changes.”
Cymru Under-21 squad
Evan WATTS (Swansea City), Lewys BENJAMIN (Wolves), Luke ARMSTRONG (Cardiff City), Archie HARRIS (AFC Bournemouth), Luey GILES (Cardiff City), Zac WILLIAMS (Crewe Alexandra), Ben HAMMOND (Nottingham Forest), Thierry KATSUKUNYA (Aston Villa), Dylan LAWLOR (Cardiff City), Sam PARKER (Swansea City), Alex WILLIAMS (West Bromwich Albion), Rhys THOMAS (Man City), Joel COTTERILL (Swansea City), Kai ANDREWS (Coventry City), Jonathan BLAND (Barnsley), Joel COLWILL (Cardiff City), Troy PERRETT (Cardiff City), Cian ASHFORD (Cardiff City), Tanatswa NYAKUHWA (Cardiff City), Cameron CONGREVE (Swansea City), Chris POPOV (Leicester City).
