Jake Davies in Cardiff City U18 training

Jake Davies previews a huge game for Wales U17

Academy
Wales’ U17 camp culminates with a clash against Bulgaria tomorrow, with City trio Jake Davies, Ronan Kpakio and Jac Thomas in their squad. 

The young Bluebirds head into the fixture knowing that a win would guarantee them qualification for the European U17 Championship Finals, while a draw may prove to be enough, dependant on results in other groups.

Ahead of the clash, attacker Davies said: “We’re expecting them to be a physical side. We’re going to have to be ready to compete with them and we can’t wait for the battle.

“It’s a massive game, because we know that if we win, we’ll be going to the Euros. For me, we’re going into it with the attitude of it being a must-win. 

“It would mean a lot to us to qualify and it would be a really proud moment for us as a team, because we’ve come a long way.”

Jake Davies in Cardiff City U18 training

After a 2-1 win over Romania to begin the group stage, the side fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat to Sweden last time out, but have performed well in both fixtures. 

Jake added: “The camp has been really good so far. It’s a great experience for me and all the boys have really bonded well. We’re looking forward to the game now. 

“The first game against Romania was massive, because it set us up for the whole group stage. It was a huge win for us and it put us in a really good position. 

“Sweden were a very good team, but I thought in the second half, we really dominated and were the better side. We were unlucky not to get at least a draw. We could have started off better, but we came into the game and were unfortunate to lose in the end. 

“We can take a lot of confidence from those performances, they’ve been great. We’re really confident going into the Bulgaria game and we can’t wait for the challenge.”