Cymru U21 head coach Matty Jones will look for his squad to build on the positives from their opening qualifier against Denmark last month as they prepare to take on Belgium and Austria in their latest Group I fixtures.
Belgium are the visitors to Rodney Parade on Friday 10 October (7:30pm) before the squad head to Linz to face Austria on Tuesday 14 October (5:00pm). Cymru suffered a 6-2 reverse in their opening match against Denmark in Newport last month, but the result didn’t reflect the overall performance as Jones’s side were 2-1 ahead at half-time through goals from Tanatswa Nyakuhwa and Chris Popov.
“It fills me with confidence knowing that this way of playing has given us huge amounts of success,” explained Jones this week. “For that 30-minute period against the top seeds in Denmark, we really went toe-to-toe, and we were able to capitalise and score two goals. So, it put us in a position probably we’d never been in before, and that’s what’s exciting about this period we’re going through.
“We take a lot of pride on our winning mentality, and we speak about our competitiveness within our environment on and off the pitch. We’re asking players to adapt to a new style of play, which is phenomenally exciting.
“It excites every coaching member of staff, and it excites the players, but I think the question is how long we can sustain that for in any given game, and against the top seeds.”
The squad is boosted by the selection of Charlie Crew and Kai Andrews who were both involved with Craig Bellamy’s senior squad last month, and Jones believes their experience will be invaluable. “It’s a huge boost having them playing in their own age group,” he added.
“We speak about this often, about that transition between age groups and to have that senior exposure and the opportunity, and the experience to be around Craig and our national team is immense. We can only wish for those opportunities for all our players.
“What I can guarantee with Charlie and Kai is a level of humility. They’re wonderful human beings, so they’ll take to this quite seamlessly in terms of playing in their own age group.
“But we’ll often speak about that leadership opportunity now for them to showcase, to show their role model behaviours on and off the pitch, that professionalism, the reason why they’ve got recognition and had those opportunities.”
Tanatswa Nyakuhwa celebrates his goal against Denmark last month
Belgium were held to a 1-1 draw against Belarus in their opening match while Austria claimed a 3-2 victory over the same opposition a few days later. Only the group winners will automatically progress to the 2027 UEFA U21 EURO finals with the group runners-up entering the play-offs.
“These are the top seeded teams that we want to challenge ourselves against,” said Jones. “When we face the likes of Belgium, we know what they’re going to bring and that’s a huge amount of individual brilliance. They’re going to be well structured and hard to break down at times as well.
“But there are moments in the game that we can maximise on, and it’s up to the players to make sure that we take our chances when we’re presented with them. We’ve spoken a lot about that.”
Lewys Benjamin and Archie Harris rejoin the squad following their recovery from injury, while the new domestic season has also seen a number of the squad gaining more senior experience at their respective clubs. It’s a factor that Jones believes will be key in this international camp.
“I’m always delighted with the selection of players that we have within this nation,” Jones added.
“We’ve got huge amounts of depth at the moment in every age group and it’s always challenging making sure that we have the right pathway and we make the right decisions. You will see a lot of movement within the intermediate teams to make sure that we’re being as constructive as possible for these players’ careers.
“The opportunities given to players at clubs, we have to rely on that because it puts us in a much healthier place when those players come into the international window. We often see the benefits because of their fitness levels, their experiences by making that step to senior football. The more players who get those experiences, we see the improvement of our intensity and the level of quality that we can sustain.”
Over 1,000 fans were in attendance at Rodney Parade for the opening match of the campaign against Denmark last month, and Jones welcomes the increased support for his squad. “There’s no bigger thing than to feel supported and feel that people have got your backs,” he explained.
“It’s all credit to our media team and the department that spend a lot of time engaging with people out there in the community, as well as some of our players and myself. You’ve got to put that effort in to connect, and once you’ve got that connection, you bring people on board.”
