9:20am Tuesday 17th November 2009
By Andrew Penman
FRESH from their heroics against Scotland on Saturday, senior stars Ched Evans, Sam Vokes and Simon Church are aiming to fire Wales under-21s to the UEFA 2011 European Championships.
The talented trio travelled to Sarajevo yesterday for tomorrow’s vital qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina (kick-off 3pm).
Joe Allen, Adam Matthews and Andy King, who were all in the squad for the 3-0 win over the Scots, also boarded the plane, but Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale have been withdrawn and Jack Collison, Joe Partington and Lewin Nyatanga also miss out.
Ramsey has been struggling with a back problem and was substituted after 57 minutes against Scotland.
Senior full-backs Neal Eardley and Newport’s Chris Gunter also missed the trip but manager Brian Flynn is boosted by the inclusion of seven full internationals in his squad.
Flynn’s youngsters are top of UEFA qualifying group three and victory tomorrow would put them on the verge of qualifying for the play-offs for the finals in Denmark.
Since a disappointing goalless draw in their opening match in Luxemburg, Wales have won four successive home games, including a 2-1 victory over Italy at the Liberty Stadium in September.
After tomorrow’s match they face tough trips to Hungary and Italy but their hopes of winning the group were further boosted by Hungary’s 2-0 win over the Italians on Friday night.
The 10 group winners and four best runners-up will qualify for the play-off stage, with the seven winners joining hosts Denmark in the finals in June 2011.
Squad: David Cornell (Swansea City), Chris Maxwell (Wrexham), Darcy Blake (Cardiff City, on loan at Plymouth Argyle), Adam Matthews (Cardiff City), Aaron Morris (Cardiff City), Christian Ribeiro (Bristol City), Ashley Richards (Swansea City), Neil Taylor (Wrexham), James Wilson (Bristol City, on loan at Brentford), Joe Allen (Swansea City), Billy Bodin (Swindon Town), Mark Bradley (Walsall), Andy King (Leicester City), Shaun MacDonald (Swansea City, on loan at Yeovil Town), Elliott Chamberlain (Leicester City), Simon Church (Reading), Ched Evans (Sheffield United), Jake Taylor (Reading), Sam Vokes (Wolverhampton Wanderers, on loan at Leeds Utd), Marc Williams (Wrexham).
Meanwhile the Scottish Football Association last night confirmed George Burley's sacking as national manager.
The SFA acted quickly after Scotland fans turned on Burley during Saturday's 3-0 friendly defeat to Wales in Cardiff.
Chief executive Gordon Smith canvassed his 10 colleagues on the SFA board and they came to a unanimous decision to terminate his contract.
The SFA had given Burley a vote of confidence despite his failure to make the World Cup play-offs. But subsequent defeats by Japan, and Wales in particular, made Burley's position untenable.
Smith said: “The decision was taken after a meeting with the board of directors and, subsequently, the national coach. The board was in unanimous agreement.
“It should be stressed that the decision was not a direct consequence of Saturday's unacceptable defeat to Wales but, rather, a realisation that the expectations of the supporters, the Scottish FA and George himself, were not being met.”
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