International Career
Ledley's first call-up to the Wales under-21 squad came midway through the 2004-05 season. At 17 he had begun to play in Cardiff City's first team and by the end of the season he had earned three under-21 caps, still only aged 18. His manager at Cardiff Lennie Lawrence said that he expected Ledley to be getting a full Wales call-up very shortly. In May, Wales manager John Toshack, when talking about the impact of captain Ryan Giggs retiring, said that he was hopeful for the future because Ledley along with other left-sided youngsters Gareth Bale and Lewin Nyatanga were all very talented players who could play for the national team for years to come.
Ledley played at several youth levels for Wales as a youngster eventually winning his first senior Wales cap in an away World Cup qualifying match against Poland on 7 September 2005. His first international goal came against San Marino in a Euro 2008 qualifier on 17 October 2007.
In 2008 Ledley, along with a number of other full Wales internationals, was called back into the Wales U21 squad in a bid to help the team qualify for the U21 championships, only for a back injury to rule him out. On 29 May 2009, with a number of first team players missing from the side, Ledley was named as captain of Wales' youngest ever side for the 1–0 win over Estonia and Wales' 2010 World Cup qualifying match against Azerbaijan in Baku.
Read more about this topic: Joe Ledley
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