Matty Jones warns against Cymru U21 complacency

Cymru U21 head coach Matty Jones has warned his squad against complacency as they prepare to take on Belarus in Georgia on Friday 14 November (KO 2pm GMT) on the back of an excellent victory away to Austria in their UEFA U21 EURO qualifying campaign.

“It’s going to be a huge part of my intro meeting to the players and staff,” explained Jones. “In terms of complacency, there is no room for it. Some will say that we should win the game, but I don’t think we deserve that. What we need to think is that it’s a game we can win, as long as we get our preparation right.”

Cymru claimed an impressive 2-0 victory away to Austria in Linz last month to earn their first points of the qualifying campaign through goals from Gabriele Biancheri and Chris Popov. Both players are included for this latest Group I match together with Charlie Crew and Kai Andrews, who were recently involved with Craig Bellamy’s senior squad.

Jones has named a 21-man squad for the match against a Belarus side currently bottom of Group I. “I’ve taken a slightly different approach this time in terms of numbers being less,” he explained. “I think with the complexity of this window and the importance of the game itself, we’ve made sure that we’ve just narrowed down the numbers, ultimately to zone in on the importance of the game.”

A tough start to the campaign saw Cymru suffer heavy home defeats to Denmark and Belgium prior to the victory in Austria. Despite the early setbacks, Jones is excited for the remainder of the campaign and seeing how his players develop, progress and respond to the challenges ahead.

The Cymru U21 squad celebrate the 2-0 win over Austria last month

“I’m excited for it,”he explained. “With their development and their progress at their clubs, we’ll be in a much stronger position come the new calendar year. Looking back at previous performances, we’ve needed to protect them, and we’ve needed to have open and honest conversations. But there has to be an element of patience with this young group.

“What’s exciting is that we were able to turn around a 7-0 defeat (against Belgium) into a 2-0 win against Austria. I think that just shows the resilience, the character, the personalities that we have in the group and just how strong that group is in terms of unity. I’m really proud of that. I’m super proud of the players to be able to show that character and super proud of the staff.”

Defender Ed James returns to the squad after suspension, while Cian Ashford, Joel Cotterill and goalkeeper Kit Margetson are included for the first time since the opening match against Denmark in September. The match has also brought its own logistical challenges as it will take place at the 5,000 capacity Tengiz Burjanadze Stadium in the city of Gori, Georgia.

“It’s something that I feel quite proud of in terms of the amount of effort that’s gone into this planning,” Jones added. “We’ve been planning it for three months and it’s something that gives me full confidence is that we’ve just got to be ahead of everything. There’s been a lot of the planning in terms of logistics and travel, which we’ve had great support with from wonderful members of staff.

“I’d like to think that when we come in on day one and we present it to the players, we’re going to have that buy-in, we’re going to have that understanding of what was looking difficult is being made the best of. Our training week is going to look totally different. But it has to be an opportunity to embrace difference, and if we can get our minds around that, then we’ll be in the best place possible come game day.”

Belarus claimed an impressive point with a 1-1 draw against Belgium in their opening group match in September through an added time equaliser, but suffered a 3-2 to Austria a few days later to leave them looking for their first victory of the campaign. However, Jones is confident that his team can end the calendar year with a positive result.

“I can’t explain how important it is,” he added. “We’ve put ourselves in a good place coming off the back of a win. I’d like to think we’d be able to get another clean sheet, and I’d like to think we’d be able to score goals. I’d like to think that we’d be able to celebrate these wins collectively as a group and hopefully be rewarded for all the hard work that we’ve been through.

“The players are definitely deserving of this. It’s a chance to build momentum and it’s a chance to be able to turn things around the second half of the campaign. We can put ourselves in a good position to be able to enjoy the winter months, knowing that we’ve put ourselves back in a fantastic place to then go and prepare for the second round of games.”

Cymru have never qualified for the UEFA U21 EURO finals and only the nine group winners and highest-ranked second placed team are guaranteed a place at the 2027 tournament alongside host nations Albania and Serbia. The remaining eight second placed teams will enter the play-offs scheduled for next November to determine the final four places.