MARK Hughes and the Welsh senior team will be the eventual beneficiaries of Wales Under-17s' 'vital learning experience' in Spain last week, insists Peter Nicholas.

Nicholas, manager of Wales' Under-17 outfit, says the Welsh youngsters will become better players after competing with France and Spain, two world super-powers at this level, in the second stage of the European Championship qualifiers.

The teenagers finished third behind the two footballing giants and above Bulgaria in group one - Wales beating Bulgaria 4-2 in the final game thanks to goals from skipper Matthew Collins, brother of Newport County defender Chris, Craig Davies, Ryan Morgan and Matthew Roberts.

But Nicholas was left drooling over the sublime talents and ability of the Spanish and French, Wales losing 3-0 and 7-0 respectively.

Both nations' Academy systems are run by the relevant football associations. Centres are based all around the country, with players based on campus from the age of 14. There they are educated and have football training every day.

"It's a great learning experience for our players," said Nicholas, capped 74 times at senior level.

"The French, for instance, have produced some of the world's top players like Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Zinadine Zidane and Marcel Desailly.

"But in their current under-17 sides they have almost got clones of those players, players of the same calibre and with the same attributes."

Nicholas' assistant - at both Newport County and with Wales - is Glyn Jones, who continued: "We would pen them in near their own goal-line towards the corner flag - and we thought 'we've got them.'

"But they would turn and arrow a 60-70 yard ball to the other flank and set-up an attack. That is amazing, bearing in mind they're only 16."

Nicholas added: "You'll see a lot of those Spanish and French players who we played in the Premiership, La Liga or the French top division within two or three years."

Both top nations had players attached to world-renowned sides. France had players from Paris St Germain, Monaco and Bordeaux while the Spanish could pick young talent on the books of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.

Wales, on the other hand, took most of their players from Nationwide League clubs - with only captain Collins from Fulham, Charlton Athletic pair Adam Gross and David Evans and Manchester City's Craig Davies playing for top-flight English clubs.

And even Newport County youth-team's left-back Scott Richards made the squad, going on in the second-half against Bulgaria.