Where are they now? The last Wales side to face Trinidad & Tobago
Cardiff, Wales. 15th November, 2018. Wales forward Gareth Bale trains at the Cardiff City Stadium ahead of their upcoming international matches against Denmark & Albania. Lewis Mitchell/YCPD.
Wales host Trinidad & Tobago at the Racecourse Ground next Wednesday as they prepare for their first European Championship qualifier against Slovakia.
It’s only the second time that the sides will have met on the international stage, having competed against each other for the first time in 2006.
Wales won 2-1 at the Liebenauer Stadium in Austria that day, as Trinidad prepared for the 2006 World Cup. Robert Earnshaw scored twice after Stern John had initially put the Caribbean side in front.
It was a night which saw four players earn their first cap for Wales as John Toshack began his youthful revolution.
Arron Davies, Jason Brown, Gareth Bale and Glyn Garner all made their international debuts in the game.
Jason Brown
The former Gillingham goalkeeper made his international debut in this game, and would go on to make two further appearances for his country against Liechtenstein and Mexico.
The former Arsenal Ladies coach featured for clubs such as Sutton United and Dartford after his third and final international cap in 2012, before hanging up his boots in 2015.
Brown is now the manager of Thai League 2 side Air Force Central.
Danny Gabbidon
The 39-year-old made 49 caps for his country, one shy of a half-century. He played mostly at West Ham but had spells with Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers
He had a brief spell in charge of Cardiff City as joint-manager alongside Scott Young, before finishing his club career with his brother’s side Panteg.
Gabbidon now features on BBC’s Feast of Football podcast with Ellis James, as well as appearing as a pundit for numerous media outlets.
David Partridge
Having been born in Westminster, Partridge qualified for Wales via his father.
He played for Wales from under-16s onwards and made seven caps in total.
After his appearance against Trinidad he had two stints with Brentford but failed to make an appearance.
Partridge wound down his career in the English non-league scene with Thurrock, ending his football career in 2011.
James Collins
James Collins became a Wales mainstay in the defence, as he coped with playing Premier League football, with international football.
He was released from West Ham United after six years of service, in his second spell with the London club.
Collins called time on his international career in November 2017. He now plays his club football for Ipswich Town at the age of 35.
Simon Davies
39-year-old Davies spent a year at Everton after the game against Trinidad, before spending six years at Fulham before his retirement in 2013. At Fulham, he reached the Europa League final in 2010, losing to Atletico Madrid in extra-time.
Haverfordwest-born Simon Davies returned to West Wales to join Pembrokeshire side Solva, where he began as a junior.
Davies now lives in London and makes a number of community days appearances with the FAW Trust.
Carl Fletcher
Central midfielder Carl Fletcher had only recently moved to Crystal Palace after his appearance against Trinidad. He spent three years at the club, having been appointed captain by Peter Taylor.
Fletcher spent two years in charge of Football league side Plymouth Argyle after moving from playing into management.
He is now responsible for the Youth Team at AFC Bournemouth, after finishing playing with Barnet in 2014.
Joe Ledley
A product of Cardiff City’s academy, which became part of the core of the European Championship side at the Euros, Ledley spent four more years in Wales, before a move to Celtic.
He won three Scottish Premiership titles and one Scottish Cup, before playing in the Premier League with Crystal Palace.
The 32-year-old went on to become an important player for Wales in their European Championship qualifying campaign and miraculously recovered from a broken leg to feature for his country at their first major tournament in 58 years.
Ledley is currently without a club, having been released by Derby in February.
Carl Robinson
After a permanent move to Norwich City from Sunderland, Robinson moved to the MLS to play for New York Red Bulls and Toronto, ending his playing career in 2011.
Robinson was the manager of Major League Soccer side Vancouver Whitecaps after being appointed in 2013, after working as an assistant coach. He was relieved of his duties in September. The 52-capped Wales international was linked with the Dragons job but eventually lost out to Ryan Giggs.
David Vaughan
David Vaughan was at Crewe Alexandra at the time of his appearance against Trinidad. He remained there for one more year before a brief spell with Real Sociedad, joining future Wales manager Chris Coleman in the second tier of Spanish football.
He returned back to England and helped get Blackpool promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history.
The Conwy born midfielder had spells with Sunderland, before making over a century of appearances for Nottingham Forest.
He now plays for Forests’ city rivals Notts County.
David Cotterill
Cotterill made his first start for Wales against Trinidad, having begun his career for Bristol City.
After his start, he had a chance in the Premier League with Wigan Athletic. A majority of his career was spent in the Championship with clubs like Doncaster Rovers, Sheffield United and Swansea City.
Cotterill finished his career in the Indian Super League with ATK.
Robert Earnshaw
Earnshaw netted twice against Trinidad & Tobago to give Wales a slender win after Stern John’s opener. The 37-year-old retired from club football in 2015 and has since gone into coaching. He’s currently assistant manager at Fresno FC under former Mold Alexandra goalkeeper Adam Smith.
In January, he pulled on the red of Wales again in the Star Sixes. Unfortunately for him though, Wales finished bottom.
Substitutes
Andrew Crofts
At Gillingham at the time, Crofts worked his way up from the Under 19s to the Under 21s, before becoming a Wales senior international. His last Wales appearance came in a 1-1 draw against Panama in November 2017.
Crofts was brought into Newport County last summer and was appointed the captain. He has encountered injury problems, making just eight appearances for the County this season.
Craig Davies
Davies has had an abundance of clubs, since moving from Hellas Verona after his Trinidad & Tobago call up.
The Stags forward failed to score for Wales in his seven caps.
His best spell came with Chesterfield where he scored 23 goals in 41 appearances.
The Burton-born forward now plays for Mansfield Town, after playing for Oldham Athletic last season.
Lewin Nyatanga
Defender Lewin Nyatanga was predicted for big things and made 34 caps for Wales before the age of 21.
He had a total of four spells with Barnsley, before moving to Bristol City.
His footballing career ended before his thirties, as he opted for a different means of employment. Nyatanga is a personal trainer for the company the DVCC.
Glyn Garner
A second-half appearance, where he didn’t concede, ended up being Glyn Garner’s one and only cap for Wales.
Playing for Leyton Orient at the time after a five-year spell with Bury earnt him a move to Orient, Garner ended up playing for Shrewsbury Town, before moving into the non-league scene with Bath City, Grays Athletic and Newport County.
42-year-old Garner now plays for Welsh Football League Division One side Taffs Well.
Gareth Bale
A 16-year-old Gareth Bale made his international debut for Wales against the Socca Warriors.
His debut was a perfect one as he set up Robert Earnshaw in the 87th minute, having come on for David Vaughan in the 54th minute.
Bale earnt his call-up after just 180 minutes of first-team football at Southampton.
13 years later, Gareth Bale once became the most expensive players in the world after moving from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid for a reported £77 million.
At Madrid, he’s won one La Liga title, one Copa del Rey and four Champions League titles.
For his country, he was a pivotal part of Wales qualifying for their first major tournament in 58 years, ending up as their top goalscorer in the European Championships. In March of last year, he became Wales’ all-time record goalscorer, after scoring a hat-trick against China.
Arron Davies
Davies was one of four debutants in Austria and was close friends with Gareth Bale at the time. Both at Southampton academy, Davies went on a different path.
The cap against Trinidad was the only one he earnt, as he spent the rest of his career in the Football League.
He helped Yeovil Town to a Play-Off final with the clinching goal against future club Nottingham Forest.
Spells with Brighton & Hove Albion, Northampton Town and Peterborough United followed, before settling for four years with Exeter City.
His last season in football as a player was with Accrington Stanley in 2017. Davies now works as a football agent.
(Featured Image: NCM Media)
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