Northern Ireland’s men’s Under-21 side will play three European qualifiers at The Oval this autumn, it has been confirmed.
Tommy Wright’s team are set to meet Georgia, Germany, Greece, Latvia and Malta in the 2025-27 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying group stage (Group F).
And they will begin their qualification campaign for U21 Euro 2027 with a trip to Georgia, second seeds in the group, on Tuesday 9 September.
The home of Glentoran FC will then host two matches the following month. Northern Ireland are scheduled to take on Malta at the east Belfast stadium on Thursday 9 October, while Group F top seeds Germany will provide the opposition at The Oval on Tuesday 14 October (kick-off times TBC).
Northern Ireland’s U21s will be back in east Belfast the following month when they will face Latvia on Thursday 13 November (kick-off TBC).
The final qualifier of the year for Wright’s team is away to Greece on Tuesday 18 November (kick-off TBC).
In 2026 the U21s will play Germany away on 27 March, Latvia away on 31 March and Malta away on 26 September before facing Georgia at home on 1 October and Greece at home on 6 October (venue/s for both games TBC).
Ticketing details for the three matches at The Oval this autumn will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Northern Ireland finished fourth in Group F of the UEFA U21 Euro 2025 qualifiers behind eventual champions England, Ukraine and Serbia.
Wright will have 10 to 12 players who took part in that campaign at his disposal for the forthcoming campaign, providing him with a solid platform to build on.
Following the draw for the group stages earlier this year, the Northern Ireland U21s boss said: “It’s a difficult group, but I’m excited about the campaign and looking forward to it. It will be a chance for our players to test themselves against top teams.”
