A series of young Bluebirds have recently been competing in tournaments at international level for Wales.
James Eley, Dayton Jeremy and Sergeant Moreno were all called up to compete in a World Cup taking place in Baku.
The side impressed by following up a draw against Bangladesh with wins over Indonesia, Burundi, Fiji and notably, Portugal. Their results saw them qualify as group winners and eventually lost in a penalty shootout against Spain, who went on to win the competition.
After wins over Bulgaria and Australia, a defeat on penalties against Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as a loss to the Republic of Ireland, meant that the side finished 22nd in the final standings out of 189 teams.
A player who particularly made an impression during the competition was Jeremy, who recorded seven goals and nine assists in ten matches.
Reflecting on the experience, Dayton said: “It was great to be able to play against different nations and see how they play. They all had different styles and we had to adapt to each individual game. Against Spain, they kept moving the ball and we had to stay in a mid-block, but against Bangladesh it was them who’d stay back so we’d have to try and break them down. It was important to get experience of those different approaches.
“It’s always a big honour to represent Wales. It’s something that I’ve dreamed of since I was young so to do that is brilliant. The group was together and it was very much like a family environment.
“I was very pleased with my performances and I can take a lot forward from that. For us to go out against Spain, we were unfortunate in that game because we conceded late on and I felt we deserved a result. Losing in a penalty shootout is always tough to take but it’s very important to have that experience.
“Beating Portugal was a very good achievement for us. At the end of the game, the group were in very high spirits and had a lot of confidence. We took the approach of going all, going toe-to-toe with them and we played our football, which was really pleasing for us.”
In the younger age group, Wales competed in a UEFA Development Tournament held in Croatia.
Isaac Summerhayes, Jayden Fergus, Caio Evans, Freddie Phillips, Jack Kear, Nawar Al-Shameri, Khyas Parsons and Blake Parris were all involved in the squad.
The side drew 1-1 against Slovenia before losing in a penalty shootout and suffered defeat against Croatia. Their final match came against Belarus, where a 2-2 draw took the game to spot-kicks, with Wales coming out victors.
Summerhayes got on the scoresheet with an important equaliser against Belarus and spoke about his time away on international duty.
“It’s right up there with my best achievements because I’ve watched Wales since I was young and been to every home game. To put on the shirt, it was an honour to play for the team. Every player that was there, we’ve all earned it through working really hard over the years. We wanted to show that work on the biggest stage.
“There was a short turnaround in fixtures so there was a lot of learning about recovery. We did an hour of meditation one day on camp and had ice baths between games. Ensuring that you’re fit and ready to play is so important and the staff did really well to manage our recovery.
“In the final game against Belarus, one of the coaches said to me with ten minutes of the game left to come on and make an impact. I came on and scored a header and I was buzzing. My favourite part about it was the reaction of everyone. It really showed the bond that we created in the camp and we went on to win the penalty shootout.”