The Northern Ireland men’s and women’s Under-19 and Under-17 teams had a busy year in UEFA competitions with varying degrees of success.
Gareth McAuley’s Under-19s warmed up for qualifiers last month with friendlies against USA and Switzerland in Marbella in October. Both games ended in defeats.
The men’s U19s subsequently competed in four-team Group 13 in the qualifying round for UEFA U19 Euro 2026, with the qualifiers being staged in Malta.
Northern Ireland defeated the hosts 1-0 in their first game thanks to a goal from James Simpson.
They booked their place in the elite round of the qualifiers next spring with a 1-0 win against Azerbaijan in game two. Braiden Graham was the scorer.
In their third and final game they lost to Czechia. The win for the Czechs meant they topped Group 13 on seven points, with Northern Ireland second on six points.
McAuley’s side will now face Ukraine, Romania and Kazakhstan in Group 5 in the elite round of qualifiers for U19 Euro 2026 ahead of the finals in Wales next summer.
In February the Women’s U19s ripped it up in four-team League B Group 4 in stage two of the UEFA WU19 Euro 2025 qualifiers.
They began the mini tournament in Albania with a 4-0 success against Azerbaijan, followed by a 3-0 win over Montenegro. And then they defeated the hosts 5-0 to gain promotion to League A for stage one of the qualifiers for WU19 Euro 2026.
The goals against Azerbaijan were scored by Abi Sweetlove, who would make her senior debut later in the year, along with Gracie Conway (two) and Niamh Boothroyd, while Sofie Keenan, Aimee Kerr and Clodagh Maguire weighed in with the goals against Montenegro.
Kerr, who would also make her senior debut later in the year, scored twice, including a penalty, against the Albanians. Sophie Gargan, Niamh Boothroyd and Bernie Ferreira were also on target.
Last month, and earlier this month, they played in stage one of the qualifiers for UEFA WU19 Euro 2026 in a mini tournament in Italy.
After a heavy defeat against the Italians in their first game in League A Group 6, the WU19s were hit by a sucker punch, five minutes into added time in the second half, in game two against Switzerland. Jessica McGuinness netted to level the scores at one apiece on 84 minutes before the Swiss struck late on.
The result meant they had to defeat Belarus, who had also lost their opening two games but had a superior goal difference, to retain their League A status for the second stage of qualifiers for UEFA WU19 Euro 2026.
They managed to beat Belarus in remarkable fashion. An own goal and a crisp Darcie McNeill strike put them two up before Belarus drew level. But eight minutes into added time Jessica McGuinness delivered a corner into the penalty area and Gracie Conway rose highest to head the ball into the top corner to secure a 3-2 victory.
Gail Redmond’s side will now compete in Group A7 next spring against Spain, who won the WU19 Euros title for the fourth time in a row back in the summer, Portugal and Hungary, who won their League B group earlier this month to earn promotion to League A.
The men’s U17 team competed in the elite round of qualifiers for UEFA U17 Euro 2025 back in March.
They warmed up for the elite round qualifiers by taking part in a preparation tournament at La Nucia in Spain in February. It was organised by the Norwegian Football Federation.
Northern Ireland drew 1-1 against Poland and 0-0 with Norway in Spain, and they were narrowly defeated 2-1 by Sweden.
In the elite round qualifiers they came up against Slovenia, Israel and hosts England in Group A7 at St George’s Park in Staffordshire.
The U17s drew 1-1 with Slovenia - Ceadach O’Neill netted a penalty - before they lost 1-0 to Israel in heartbreaking fashion. A stoppage time goal gave the Israelis the win in a game in which Northern Ireland created numerous chances. In their final A7 game they were defeated 5-0 by a strong England team.
They played two friendlies in October ahead of competing in Group 11 in round one of the qualifiers for U17 Euro 2026. The challenge matches, played in Spain, saw them come up against USA (2-0 defeat) and Portugal (3-1 defeat; Calum Anderson got the goal).
In the first of the qualifiers, played in Cyprus in late October, they defeated Armenia by two goals to one. The scorers were Eamonn Tohill and Joel Kerr.
Cyprus were their opponents in game two and it ended goalless. They then drew 1-1 with Finland earlier this month - Joel Kerr netted the goal - to finish second in the group and advance to the elite round of qualifiers in the spring. And they will be up against Spain, Turkiye and Scotland in Group A6 in the second and final stage of qualifiers for U17 Euro 2026.
Back in March the Women’s U17s competed in League B Group 1 in the second and final round of the UEFA WU17 Euro 2025 qualifiers. The Irish FA hosted the B1 mini tournament, which featured Estonia, Montenegro and Kazakhstan.
Their first B1 game was against Montenegro and Northern Ireland dominated the match, however they lost out by two goals to one at Seaview. Jessica McGuinness scored for the home team. The Montenegro keeper, Senita Kalac, put in a player of the match performance, producing a string of good saves.
Game two was against Kazakhstan at Inver Park in Larne. Again the WU17s had the bulk of the chances. They scored through Ellen McDermott and Charlotte Havern in the opening half hour, but the visitors bounced back and scored at the end of the first half and again in the second half to secure a 2-2 draw.
The third and final match saw them come up against Estonia at Seaview. Once again they bossed the game but had to settle for a 2-2 draw after the Estonians grabbed a stoppage time equaliser. Abbie Smyth netted both of Northern Ireland’s goals.
The Irish Football Association is set to host the UEFA Women’s Under-17 European Championship from 3 to 16 May next year.
To help them prepare - they qualify for the finals as hosts - Northern Ireland took part in round one of the qualifiers.
Prior to those qualifiers they faced France in a friendly in September. They lost 5-0 at the French Football Federation national training centre at Clairefontaine, however they learned lots of valuable lessons, according to head coach Gail Redmond.
And they also had a friendly against Republic of Ireland at Inver Park in October. They lost that one by two goals to one. Abbie Smyth was on target for the home side.
Last month they took on Turkiye and Luxembourg in round one of the qualifiers for WU17 Euro 2026 – in League B Group 4. The mini tournament was staged in Luxembourg.
Game one against Turkiye was a tight affair. The Turks opened the scoring early on but Northern Ireland kept battling away. Eventually they equalised through Annarose Robinson on 68 minutes. Turkiye, however, grabbed the winner eight minutes later from the penalty spot.
In their second B4 game Northern Ireland dominated possession from the start against Luxembourg. Abbie Smyth netted another brace as they ran out 2-1 winners.
The Turks topped the group to gain promotion to League A, which means Northern Ireland will once again compete in League B in the spring as preparation for the finals next May. Redmond’s team will be in Group B2 along with North Macedonia, Luxembourg and Georgia.
Image: Charlotte Havern (number 16) and Heidi Curran in action for the Northern Ireland Women’s Under-17s against Kazakhstan back in March.
