Chris Coleman insists the future will belong to the young for Wales – despite the defeat that marked the Wales debuts of Ethan Ampadu and David Brooks. Ampadu, 17, and 20-year-old Brooks made their international bows at the Stade de France in Paris on Friday night but could not prevent World Cup-bound France from a gaining a deserved 2-0 win. For Wales, the friendly was about setting a new course after their failure to make next summer’s finals. In that sense, the 64th minute emergence of Ampadu and Brooks was notable as was their enthusiastic and bold contribution to an open second-half.

Chris Coleman has admitted he is happy to make waves across the border if it means Wales can fish from England’s pool of talent. The Wales manager has said he knew it would create a stir if he included David Brooks in his senior squad for the first time, given that the Sheffield United striker has already worn a shirt adorned with three lions. Brooks has been named in the Wales squad for their final 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and the Republic of Ireland, even though he has only started three league games for the Blades.