‘We are not blessed with hundreds of players we can look at’ – Bodin
GOOD preparation for the UEFA European Under 21 Championship will be crucial for Wales after their difficult qualifying draw, says U21s manager Paul Bodin.
The national side have lost 10 players due to age restrictions and promotions to the senior squad, ahead of their 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
“There’s going to be a whole new group. We went to Belgium with nine ‘01s so obviously they’re all available for us this campaign. So, it’s the 2000s, 2001s and any of the 2002s and potentially one or two ‘03s”, Bodin revealed.
With many of the younger players missing out on training and game time due to the restrictions on non-professional football, their manager stressed how important training would be.
He said: “It’s crucial that we get a training camp and get them bedded into our system, style of play. Otherwise, we will be going straight into June and playing a fixture with limited preparation,” said Bodin.
One player who is unlikely to return is 20-year-old Ben Cabango, from Llandaff North, who made his debut for the senior team against Finland in September.
With several players being promoted since the last campaign, Bodin thinks it is unlikely they will return to the youth side.
“I’m sure they won’t drop down but if they were to come back down, they would obviously add a bit of strength to us,” he noted.
One young prospect for the under-21 side is Finley Stevens, 17, whose father is from Cardiff, and currently plays for Championship side Brentford.
“There’s a couple of players on the peripheral and if they are doing well at their clubs, as we said, we’ll move them up as quickly as we feel is right,” said Bodin.
Another option for the Young Dragons is Crystal Palace’s Scott Banks, who has previously played for Scotland’s under-19s.
“I’ve had quite a bit of dialogue with him and with his club. He’s keen to come aboard, but obviously we haven’t been in a position yet where we have actually called him up, so I know Scotland have actually reengaged with him.
“He’s an exciting player – a wide winger who takes people on and scores goals, creates goals.
“We are not blessed with hundreds of players we can look at and when players like Scott come along and they’ve got dual nationality, you know we have to take advantage of that,” said Bodin.
Having been placed in the fourth pot, the national side were always going to face a difficult group as they attempt to qualify for the UEFA European Under 21s finals for the first time.
They have been drawn in Group E alongside the Netherlands, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Moldova and Gibraltar. Despite this, Bodin remains optimistic about his team’s chances.
“It could have been a lot worse, it’s a tough draw but you know, we go in. It’s a new campaign for a lot of the boys and we are all desperate to get on grass after the last year or so.
“We’ll go into the campaign hoping and feeling confident that we could actually qualify, but obviously circumstances can dictate otherwise.
“We’ll do our homework from now on in. Obviously, once the draw is done then the work really starts,” Bodin added.
Thankfully for the Young Dragons, their group contains some familiar faces, including the Netherlands. Wales suffered a narrow defeat to their under-19s side two years ago and it is likely that many of their players will feature for their under-21s side.
- Games are scheduled to be played from March 2021 to June 2022, with current restrictions meaning the national side are likely to play their first game in June.
