Historically the team was viewed by the Welsh national management as a hole to be filled rather than a team to be used to nurture young international players. Many of the great Welsh players spent little time at the under-21 team level.
Ryan Giggs only made one appearance for the under-21 team before making his senior debut against
Germany the next day. From 2004 onward however, the former
Wales national football team manager
John Toshack and former Wales Under 21 manager
Brian Flynn used the under-21 team to create a pool of youthful Welsh talent. The team now has a much better tracking system of young Welsh players, and has seen a marked improvement in players and team results. Recent results have seen them achieve big wins against
Estonia (5–1),
Northern Ireland (4–0) and
France (4–2). Players who have made the step from the U21s to attain
over 50 caps for the senior squad are
Gary Speed,
Simon Davies,
Carl Robinson,
Craig Bellamy,
Robert Earnshaw,
James Collins,
John Hartson,
Andy King,
Joe Ledley,
Sam Vokes,
Wayne Hennessey,
Chris Gunter,
Gareth Bale,
Aaron Ramsey,
Joe Allen,
Connor Roberts,
Harry Wilson,
Daniel James,
Joe Rodon and
Chris Mepham. On 15 May 2008, they played a friendly against
England U21s to mark the 100th match in the history of the side, losing 2–0. A 3–0 victory against Romania in September 2008 meant that the Under-21 side finished top of their qualifying group for the first time in their history. It meant Wales would go into a two-legged play-off against
England in October 2008 for a place in the finals of the
2009 UEFA Under-21 Championship to be played in
Sweden. Wales lost the playoff 5–4 over the course of two legs. Losing 3–2 at home in the first leg and drawing 2–2 away in the second. Wales started their qualifying campaign for the
2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship with a 1–0 away win against Andorra, a 3–1 away loss against Montenegro, a 1–0 home win against Montenegro, a 1–0 home defeat against Czech Republic and a 0–0 away draw against Armenia. In May 2012 Brian Flynn vacated his position as Wales under-21 manager at the end of his contract and in July 2012
Geraint Williams was appointed team manager Williams resigned as team manager on 5 December 2016. On 15 March 2017 it was announced that former
Port Vale and
Northampton Town manager
Rob Page had left his position on the coaching staff at
Nottingham Forest to become Wales under-21 manager. In August 2019 Page was appointed assistant coach to the senior Wales squad under
Ryan Giggs with
Paul Bodin stepping up from the Under 19's to manage the Under 21 team. In November 2021, Wales picked up their biggest ever win at under-21 level when they beat Gibraltar 7–0 in a
qualifier for the
2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. In July 2022 Bodin's contract with Wales Under-21 was terminated by mutual consent. In September 2022,
Matt Jones was appointed as manager. ==Players==