Young striker Luke Jephcott is in the Cymru Under-21 squad who take on Moldova at Stebonheath, Llanelli tonight in the opening match of UEFA U21 EURO 2023 qualifying.

Jephcott was Plymouth Argyle’s top scorer this season with 16 League One goals and two in the FA Cup.

He started the 20/21 season strongly by scoring the winner on the opening day against Blackpool. He scored one in the next seven games before starting a sensational run of form, scoring 14 goals in the next 18 league games, which attracted interest from a clutch of Championship clubs including Stoke City and Cardiff City.

The Aberystwyth-raised forward has been selected by manager Paul Bodin for the Group E qualifying campaign that will see the side take on Switzerland, Bulgaria, Moldova, Gibraltar and top seeds the Netherlands.

With the rest of the group starting their campaign in September, Cymru have an early opportunity to make a positive start against a Moldova side that were comfortably defeated 3-0 in Wrexham last November during the previous qualifying campaign.

With a number of that squad no longer eligible for the Under-21s team, Bodin has a new and exciting group of players to work with this time around, but the purpose of the team remains firmly-focused on progression to the senior squad.

“The performances are paramount,” Bodin added. “If players are going to progress to the senior group we are looking for top, high-level performances on a consistent basis. If you perform at a high-level then you will step up to the senior group at some stage.”

Bodin had a first look at his new squad in March when they took on the Republic of Ireland in an international friendly at Colliers Park, and despite the 2-1 defeat, there were plenty of positives to take out of the game.

“Of course, you want to win games,” explained Bodin. “But the performances of individuals, getting them to collectively play as a group and instilling the principles so that if you do step up to the senior group it’s not a huge shock to them. It’s about being confident in the group, and during their time away with us they’re continuing their individual development and hopefully they will win games.

“If players play well enough and to their best, then hopefully that will be enough to win games.”