 He captained the team against Belgium but was subbed off, He played the full 90 minutes as captain against Scotland and in the third game he came off the bench to score against Slovenia.Bender was called up as a stand-by player for the Wales under-21 side for a friendly against Malta on 10 August 2010.He was named on the bench for the game, coming on to make his debut as a substitute in place of David Stephens.