Rob Page has confirmed that he will give a number of his squad their international debuts in Thursday’s friendly with Gibraltar in Portugal.

Having missed out on qualification to EURO 2024 after March’s penalty shootout agony vs Poland, Wales have two summer friendlies – the other against Slovakia on Sunday – to experiment a little from their core of talent that has been so successful in recent years.

The most notable sign of Page giving opportunities to those on the fringes is his decision to give Josh Sheehan the captain’s armband.

The Bolton Wanderers midfielder has never even started a match for Wales, such has been the settled nature of Page’s team throughout the last couple of campaigns, with Ethan Ampadu, Joe Morrell, and, latterly, Jordan James dominating the midfield for Cymru.

Sheehan, 29, has had an excellent season with Bolton, scoring twice and assisting a further 12 times as the Lancashire club made the League One Play-Off Final, only to fall at the final hurdle against Oxford United.

Sheehan said it was a “surreal” moment when Page told him he would be wearing the armband.

“He told me this morning – he pulled me aside after breakfast and said ‘you are playing tomorrow’ and he just dropped in there ‘you are going to be leading the boys out’,” Sheehan said.

“I couldn’t really believe it to be honest – it’s not something I thought was going to happen. I was happy to be playing the game and try to show what I am about. To lead the boys out is something you dream about.”

With several new names on the team sheet for Wales, let’s take a look at those in contention:

Lewis Koumas

Lewis Koumas, son of Jason, is the most high profile of the potential debutants, thanks to who his father is and the fact that he has a habit of scoring on his debuts for club and country.

Koumas scored on his Liverpool debut against Southampton in the FA Cup in February before scoring on his Wales U21 debut against Lithuania a month later.

A forward moulded in a modern style, Koumas can play effectively in every attacking role and will likely feature for Wales as part of Page’s front three.

Tom King

The oldest of the squad yet to earn a cap, 29-year-old Tom King has had to bide his time to get an opportunity for Wales. The Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper was first called up for Wales in 2019 and has often been third or fourth choice behind Danny Ward, Wayne Hennessey, and Adam Davies in Page’s squads.

King is third choice at his club – not an uncommon predicament for Wales goalkeepers recently – and will be looking to impress both of his managers with his opportunity tonight.

Jay Dasilva

Jay Dasilva is the latest in a long line of full Wales internationals to play for Cymru, having represented England at age grade level. Dasilva is an attacking left back who is well suited to audition for the ‘Neco Williams role’.

He played for England U21 at the 2019 U21 EURO in a squad that included the likes of James Maddison, Phil Foden, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Dominic Solanke, and Tammy Abraham, among many others who have starred in the Premier League.

Dasilva, who qualifies for Wales through a Pontypridd-born grandmother, has had his fine form for Coventry rewarded with a call up. With Ben Davies, now more of a centre-half than left back, the only other left-sided defender in the squad, a strong showing against Gibraltar could lead to a run of games for the 26-year-old who looks to compete with Williams and Rhys Norrington-Davies for a place in future squads.

Charlie Crew

At 17, the youngest of this list, Crew has been earmarked for a little while as one to watch in terms of international honours. Crew came through the Cardiff City academy before moving to Leeds in 2022 and spent the 2023/24 season captaining the club’s U21 side at a young age.

Crew has also captained Wales at U15, U16, U17, U18, and U21 levels and will be the youngest Welsh debutant since Ethan Ampadu if he makes his debut in these fixtures.

Fin Stevens

Similar to Dasilva, Brentford right-back Fin Stevens will be looking to make a positive impression and break the stranglehold that current incumbent Connor Roberts has on the right-side of defence.

Stevens has had an eye-catching season on loan at Oxford United and while he was an unused substitute for the aforementioned League One Play-off Final, he appeared 45 times in all competitions and scoring his first professional goal last October.

Another who has captained Wales at age grade level, Stevens will likely line-up at right wing-back in Wales’ XI, but has also played in central midfield at youth level.

Matt Baker

Last, but certainly not least, Matt Baker is the latest call up to the squad, brought in after regulars Connor Roberts and Joe Rodon pulled out on Monday.

Baker, 21, has spent a successful season on loan at Newport County, on loan from Stoke City and, like a few others on this list, has appeared for the U21s, playing five times since his debut in March 2023.

Others Looking to Impress

While those six mentioned are potentially making their debuts, there are several more in the squad with minimal experience who will also be looking to make a mark in these friendlies.

Adam Davies will rival King for a spot in goal, while Ben Cabango and Joe Low will be looking to add to their seven caps and one cap, respectively.

In midfield, the aforementioned Sheehan will likely lineup next to one of the two Charlies: Crew and Savage, who made his debut against the same opposition last October.

Swansea’s Liam Cullen will rival Koumas for a place in the attacking line, as will the likes of Wes Burns, Rabbi Matondo, and Ruben Colwill, all of whom are on the fringes of each Wales squad.

Whoever Rob Page selects, the Wales team is likely to be one of the most inexperienced for quite a while. Page’s Wales team, for better or worse, have been largely picked from a base of 15 or 16 names, with the defence very rarely changing and the attack only really rotating through the likes of Dan James, Brennan Johnson, Harry Wilson, Kieffer Moore, and David Brooks.

The chance to see some new names in action should be some (very) minor consolation to missing out on EURO 2025 in Germany.