Gareth Bale has reassured fans that Wales will give 100 percent despite mounting selection worries and has also praised ‘breakout star’ Brennan Johnson as the squad wrap up their latest batch of Nations League fixtures in Rotterdam tonight. (BBC Wales Sport)
Bale has also refused to rule out a move to Cardiff City and insists his priority is ensuring he is as fit as possible for the World Cup. (BBC Wales Sport)
Louis van Gaal will give striker Vincent Janssen a chance in the side against Wales after the Dutch fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Poland last time out. (Football Oranje)
Sgorio will stream live coverage of Wales U21’s European qualifier against Gibraltar (5.00). Paul Bodin’s side are seeking their first win in five matches against Gibraltar who are winless through nine games and sit bottom of Group E. (Sgorio Twitter)
The New Saints, Bala Town and Newtown will all discover their European fate today as UEFA make their qualifying round draws. (Cymru Football)
NOTES: Despite the strides forward Welsh international sides have made in recent years, it’s fair to say progress has stalled on the domestic stage. All eyes will again be on this year’s representatives, with the action starting in the first week of July. A poor return of results will likely spark the now annual discussion of the state of the Welsh domestic game and calls for moving the football season to the summer months. Regardless of when our season runs, the stark reality however is the that the clubs are handicapped by the lack of financial resources, and unless that situation changes, we are unlikely to see any sustained improvement bar the occasional upset.
The New Saints are seeded in the Champions League first qualifying round where it has already been confirmed they will face one of Linfield (Northern Ireland), Klaksvikar Itrottarfelag (Faroe Islands), FK RFS (Latvia) or Ballkani (Kosovo) or the winners of the preliminary round winners.
Bala are seeded in the Conference League first qualifying round, whilst Newtown are unseeded.
My Twitter account @1matthewburgess will have news from the draw which starts at 11am today.
Barry Town have announced Robbie Pattern has decided to step away from football following injuries. (Official club Twitter)
Caernarfon Town have completed a double swoop for Aberystwyth Town’s forward Ben Wynne and Connah’s Quay midfielder James Owen. (Official club site)
NOTES: Owen joins his hometown club after a successful spell at the Deeside Stadium, where he earned himself a reputation has been a hardworking and reliable performer during his six seasons in the heart of the Nomads team.
This move strikes me as being one of the best signings made by a Cymru Premier club so far this summer and Huw Griffiths will be delighted to have added the 31-year-old to his squad.
The departure of Wynne will be a loss to Aber, given his pace and versatility in attack and is another coup for the Cofis, who have their sights set on pushing for European qualification next season.
The Welsh Football Notebook 