Wales under-21 national football team
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | Young Dragons |
|---|---|
| Association | Football Association of Wales |
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) |
| Head coach | Rob Page |
| Most caps | Shaun MacDonald (25) |
| Top scorer | Ched Evans (13) |
| FIFA code | WAL |
| First international | |
 England U-21 0–0 Wales U-21  (Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton; 15 December 1976) |
|
| Biggest win | |
Wales U-21 6–2 Cyprus U-21  (Ninian Park, Cardiff; 22 October 1993) & Wales U-21 5–1 Luxembourg U-21  (Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli; 31 March 2009) |
|
| Biggest defeat | |
 Italy U-21 8–1 Wales U-21 (Stadio Pietro Fortunati, Pavia; 5 September 2003) |
|
| UEFA U-21 Championship | |
| Appearances | None (first in n/a) |
| Best result | 1st of 5 in Qual. group, 2009. Lost in play off. |
The Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years. To date Wales haven't yet qualified for the finals tournament but in recent years have shown good form, losing in a playoff (5–4) to England in the 2009 qualifying campaign and finishing second in their group two years later, after leading their group until their last game Wales only needed a draw to qualify for the play-offs but lost 1–0 away to Italy.
The U-21 team came into existence following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976. A goalless draw in a friendly against England at Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux Stadium was Wales U21s' first result.
The national under-21 team is the highest level of youth football in Wales, and is open to any players who were born in Wales or whose parents or grandparents were born in Wales. This team is for Welsh players aged 21 or under at the start of a two-year European Under-21 Football Championship campaign, so players can be, and often are, up to 23 years old. Also in existence are teams for Under-20s (for non-UEFA tournaments), Under-19s and Under 17s. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side and again for the U21s.
In recent decades, the team has been viewed by the Welsh national management as more of a hole to be filled than a team to be used to nurture young international players, many of the great Welsh players of recent years having not spent long in the under-21 team. Ryan Giggs only made one appearance for the under-21 team before making his senior debut against Germany the next day.
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