Future's bright for Wales, says captain for the night Fletcher

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Carl Fletcher steps in as Wales captain tonight - probably for the one and only time, believing his country has a crop of youngsters coming through that can produce a glittering future.

The Crystal Palace midfielder has been given the honour of leading Wales against Iceland because Craig Bellamy is not fit enough to reclaim his captain's role while stand-in Simon Davies is out injured.

For Fletcher this is a fitting reward for years of selfless commitment to his country, in which he has seen a galaxy of youngsters move up into the squad.

On the ball: Wales' Carl Fletcher slots home past Norway goalkeeper Hakon Opdal during a friendly in February.

He said: "There has been a massive change in this squad since my first cap four years ago.

"But only for the better, there are a lot of really good kids here now and they are in the squad on merit.

"You can see it in training, they have great talent and will give Welsh football a great future.

"There are so many, usually you see two or three coming through. But we have loads, and that is very refreshing to see.

"It looks good for the World Cup campaign, we have a good blend of youth and experience and if it keeps going like this the sky's the limit.

"If you get effort and quality together, there's no knowing what can be achieved.

"The quality of the young lads coming through is a big factor for us and there are exciting times ahead."

Fletcher will be the old hand leading another bunch of kids into battle as Ched Evans, Sam Vokes, James Collison, Joe Jacobson and Aaron Ramsey could all win their first caps.

But the 28-year-old was very much on the periphery of Neil Warnock's side at Palace that almost got to the Championship play-off final and, with one year of his contract left, can see a possible end to his Selhurst Park stay soon.

He said: "This season has not gone as well as I would have liked.

"A new manager has come in and changed a few things about. The team started winning and it was hard to get back into the starting line-up.

"But as a whole, the club had a good season. I would have liked to have played
more, but when you are in this situation you must get your head down and keep
working.

"I don't know what my future is. One day you can be settled and the next you may have to move 300 miles somewhere else. I have a year left on my contract so I will have to see how things go."