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Ethan Ampadu out but Wales call up Man City's Rabbi Matondo

Last updated on .From the section Walescomments122

Ethan Ampadu
Ethan Ampadu made his senior Wales debut against France in November 2017
International friendly: Albania v Wales
Venue: Elbasan Arena, Elbasan Date: Tue, 20 Nov Kick-off: 19:00 GMT
Coverage: Live on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app, plus live text commentary; also highlights on BBC One Wales from 22:40 GMT.

Ethan Ampadu has withdrawn from Wales' squad for the friendly against Albania in Elbasan on Tuesday.

Ampadu, 18, was a second-half substitute in Wales' 2-1 defeat to Denmark on Friday but will not travel to Albania and has returned to Chelsea.

Uncapped Manchester City teenager Rabbi Matondo has been called up by Ryan Giggs.

The 18-year-old is in City's under-23 squad and is yet to feature in the Premier League under Pep Guardiola.

Rabbi Matondo (L)
Rabbi Matondo is seen here playing in the Uefa Youth League for Manchester City against Hoffenheim in October, 2018

Matondo's inclusion follows the withdrawals of defenders James Chester and Paul Dummett because of injury.

Both players were hurt during Wales' 2-1 Nations League defeat by Denmark at Cardiff City Stadium on Friday.

Wales are also without Matt Smith, who will not travel after being released to play for FC Twente in the Netherlands on Sunday.

Having been born in Liverpool, Matondo is dual-qualified for Wales and England.

His family moved to Cardiff when he was a child and he was in Cardiff City's academy before switching to Manchester City in July 2016.

Matondo has played for Wales age-grade teams, including in the 2019 European Under-21 Championship qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Wales boss Giggs has confirmed Reading defender Chris Gunter will start in Albania.

Gunter will win his 93rd cap to take him past Neville Southall as Wales' most capped player.

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122 comments

  • Comment posted by Googly, at 12:25 18 Nov 2018

    One might think that a promising 18-year old, who grew up in Wales and has played for Wales at younger levels, being handed an opportunity to play for the senior national team was nothing but a good-news article.

    But then the trolls remind us that some people are just hateful.

  • Comment posted by Cardiff Boy, at 12:28 18 Nov 2018

    #12 So you'd class Matondo as fine as an English name but unacceptable should he be from Wales?

    Think HYS needs to do a thorough sweep of it's posters to rid it of WUM's and genuine knuckle-draggers. These boards are just a breeding ground for xenophobic comments

  • Comment posted by Tuggy, at 12:18 18 Nov 2018

    Some derogatory comments from England fans who seemingly can’t read or don’t have the attention span for the whole article. He came through Cardiff’s Academy and played for Wales at age grade so only right he should play for us...

  • Comment posted by 1882 Loyal Spurs, at 12:11 18 Nov 2018

    Congratulations to Chris Gunter on his record cap haul. Superb effort.

  • Comment posted by JonnyQ, at 12:20 18 Nov 2018

    The same rules for eligibility apply to all countries, so why shouldn't he play for Wales? He grew up in Wales, played for the U21's and identifies himself as Welsh (or at least partly) so good luck to him.

  • Comment posted by JonnyQ, at 12:29 18 Nov 2018

    For those moaning about eligibility, Raheem Sterling and John Barnes were born in Jamaica, Owen Hargreaves in Canada and Terry Butcher in Singapore.

  • Comment posted by TrippyDrew, at 12:24 18 Nov 2018

    @12 the problem with saying people should only play for their country of birth is what if an english woman gives birth to a child whilst on holiday in, for instance, Guam. Are you saying that child is Guamanian? And they shouldn't be allowed to represent England? It is a flawed idea.

  • Comment posted by notgoingout-reprise, at 14:54 18 Nov 2018

    England cricket team are and always been full of foreign players,yet nobody comments on that

  • Comment posted by Martarslipstick, at 12:31 18 Nov 2018

    12. Posted by ThatsNeverA RealHorse on
    11 minutes ago
    "Ah, those classic Welsh names....Jones, Lloyd, Matondo? Let's not beat about the bush, the kid's no more Welsh than you or I?"

    So you know the country of birth, ancestry and citizenship status of every person who may read your post.

    I wish I had super -powers like you.

  • Comment posted by PWL, at 14:56 18 Nov 2018

    53...hi bangles, England happy for Welsh ( and Irish and Scots) soldiers to win all their wars for them!
    He s dual qualified and he opted for Wales. It was his choice!

  • Comment posted by SkyBlueArmy, at 23:46 18 Nov 2018

    What a load of bullies so many of you are. I wish you'd all stop supporting football so we can get behind our team instead of your hate tarnishing us. If people want to play for Wales, England or whoever & they qualify fairly then it's their decision to decide. Our role as a fan is to welcome them in with our support and show them that they've made the right choice.

  • Comment posted by Blackens, at 20:30 18 Nov 2018

    England fans complaining about players who are dual qualified choosing another country to play for? Have a look at your squad. 16 or 17 are dual qualified including Kane. Why doesn't he play for Ireland? Did England poach him? Of course not. If you cannot accept players choosing other countries when given the choice, it is just a bad case of ignorance or arrogance. Could be both?

  • Comment posted by Bluebeard, at 15:21 18 Nov 2018

    Terry Butcher 77 caps and John Barnes 79 caps. Neither born in England. Seems like some would like these rules applied selectively to suit.

  • Comment posted by Bluebeard, at 14:44 18 Nov 2018

    20 of the 24 teams competing in Euro 2016 had players born outside the country they represented, including England. The eventual winners had 9.

  • Comment posted by madmarvel, at 19:54 18 Nov 2018

    Some right English thickos on this thread, England you must be embarrassed to have these fans following you

  • Comment posted by cirenfox, at 15:04 18 Nov 2018

    Good luck to the young lad. Well done Ryan Giggs for calling him up. I’m English but how other home nations do isn’t going to alter my life. As a football fan it’s refreshing to see how giggsy has shaped his squad, bringing in youth. Hope the young man gets a game and does well. Good luck

  • Comment posted by Bluebeard, at 20:24 18 Nov 2018

    Matondo qualifies for Wales in the same way as Sterling does for England. Matondo grew up in Cardiff, was nurtured by Cardiff City and has represented Wales at U/17 & U/21 levels. Sterling emigrated to England as a child and followed the same sort of path.

    Yet we have outrage that one is called-up for Wales in a friendly, whilst the other is cheered-on as he heads towards his 50th English cap.

  • Comment posted by superWhales3, at 13:20 19 Nov 2018

    68. Do you people never learn? These players grew up in england from an early age (bar hargreaves) most of your players have never lived in wales. Now is that so hard to understand?

    Rabbi grew up in Cardiff you clown. Did you actually read the article?

  • Comment posted by YnysmeudwyJack, at 20:59 18 Nov 2018

    Reading the criticism of English-born players representing Wales on these HYS everytime Wales play a game is rather tedious now.

    Any youngster opting to represent Wales does so for their own reasons. It isn't as if the FAW is forcing them to play for Wales; they are choosing to do so. What's the fuss about?

    Anyway, Giggs, we need to look to replace Ash and Chester as the back.

  • Comment posted by felixstowe_jak, at 19:14 18 Nov 2018

    Why do the English always moan about players who have dual nationality qualifications playing for Wales NI Scotland or the Republic of Ireland.

    England have always played those born in other countries.

    All few names come to mind
    Matt let tissie
    Graename let saux
    John Barnes
    Cyrillic regis
    Raheem Stirling
    Rob Jones
    Terry butcher
    Tony dorigo
    Owen Hargreaves
    Luther blisset

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