Wales 'enthused and excited' by second successive Under-17s finals

Uefa European Under-17 Championship finals - Wales v Denmark

Venue: Dasaki Achnas Stadium Date: Monday, 20 May Kick off: 17:00 BST

Coverage: Live on BBC Sport Website and BBC iPlayer

Head coach Craig Knight says there is a “real energy” around Wales’ squad as they prepare for a second successive Uefa European Under-17 finals.

Wales’ appearance in last year’s tournament was their first at an Uefa men's intermediate tournament since 1981.

Knight’s side have reached this year’s finals in Cyprus and face Denmark in their opening game on Monday, 20 May.

“The excitement has been building for some time and I think that raised a notch when we did individual meetings with all the players,” Knight told BBC Sport Wales.

“The enthusiasm and the excitement came through in those interviews with those players.

“Then that transferred to the training pitch in the afternoon. I’ve never known noise like it – it was a real joy to be around.

“There was a real energy about it and it was lovely to see.”

After facing Denmark in their opening game of Group B , Wales will play Austria at Larnaca’s Ammochostos Epistrofi Stadium on Thursday, 23 May.

They conclude the group stage against Croatia at Dasaki Achnas Stadium on Sunday, 26 May.

Knight said qualifying for a second successive finals was testament to the Football Association of Wales' (FAW) work in identifying young players through regional camps.

He added that there was a clear pathway for youngsters to make it all the way into Wales’ senior side.

“There’s no secret, when you look at the senior squad, how many players attended regional camps and gone through the age groups,” Knight added.

West Bromwich Albion's Oliver Bostock captained Wales Under-17s through the qualifiers

“That pathway, if you are doing the right things at your club, you’re going to come through the door for Wales and if you do the right things with us and you’re a good person and invest in how we want to behave then you have every opportunity to progress on the pathway.”

Wales lost to the Republic of Ireland and hosts Hungary before finishing with an impressive win over Poland in last year’s tournament.

Many members of last season’s squad have been involved with their club first teams during the past season.

“That’s so pleasing for everybody involved when you see the lads who you worked with last year,” Knight said.

“Louie Giles was the most recent one, coming on for Cardiff in the Championship.

“There’s several others in and around Championship teams, on the bench and getting that experience.

“Hopefully that journey they went on last year with us has given them the confidence.”