Northern Ireland’s Under-19s were defeated by Czechia in their final game in the first stage of the U19 Euro 2026 qualifiers.
Competition
U19 Euro 2026 Qualifying Round (Group 13)
Scoreline
Northern Ireland U19s 0-4 Czechia U19s
Scorers
Czechia: Louis Buffon (35’, 42’, 59’), Ondrej Penxa (76’)
Venue
National Football Centre, Ta’Qali
Date
18 November 2025
Team News
The U19s are competing in four-team Group 13 in the qualifying round for UEFA U19 Euro 2026 this month, with the games being staged in Malta.
Northern Ireland defeated the hosts 1-0 in their first game and then booked their place in the elite round of the qualifiers next spring with a 1-0 win against Azerbaijan.
For their third and final group game against Czechia, Under-19s boss Gareth McAuley made three changes to the team that started against Azerbaijan.
In came forwards Kalum Thompson and Paul McGovern along with attacking midfielder Dylan Stitt, with attackers Braiden Graham, Ceadach O’Neill and George Feeney dropping to the bench.
How it happened
Northern Ireland had the first chance of the game when Kalum Thompson had an effort blocked.
But Czechia, who picked up four points from their opening two games, turned up the heat after that.
Czechia striker Louis Buffon dragged an effort wide and had a shot blocked before attacking midfielder Ondrej Penxa forced a save out of Northern Ireland keeper Josh Gracey.
Then Czech midfielder Tadeas Frydl put an effort wide before Gracey kept out a strike from him and thwarted another Buffon attempt.
On 34 minutes Czechia were awarded a penalty when Northern Ireland captain Blaine McClure brought down midfielder Lukas Moudry inside the area.
Gracey got down well to save Buffon’s spot kick, however the striker was on hand to tuck home the rebound to make it 1-0 to Czechia.
The Czechs doubled their lead in the 42nd minute when Penxa had a shot blocked and Buffon was on hand to slam the loose ball into the net.
Half-time: Northern Ireland U19s 0-2 Czechia U19s
Dylan Stitt and James Simpson both had efforts blocked as Northern Ireland started the second half on the front foot.
Both sides struggled to create openings before Buffon completed his hat-trick on 59 minutes with a neat finish.
Czechia keeper Matyas Silhavy had to be on his toes to keep out a strike from Northern Ireland substitute Ceadach O’Neill.
Moudry had an effort blocked before he chalked up an assist for Czechia’s fourth, which was netted by Penxa.
Gracey saved from Czechia substitute Adam Sosna, while another Czech sub, Jakub Rehak, was off target with a couple of efforts. Down the other end Northern Ireland sub Braiden Graham had an attempt before Sosna missed the target again.
In added time Gracey was called into action once more. This time he kept out an effort from Czechia sub Daniel Svancara.
The win for the Czechs meant they topped Group 13 on seven points, with Northern Ireland second on six points.
The top two teams in 13 groups as well as the best third-placed team will join top seeds Spain in the elite round draw on 10 December. The elite round in spring 2026 will produce the seven nations joining hosts Wales in the finals scheduled from 28 June to 11 July next year.
Full-time: Northern Ireland U19s 0-4 Czechia U19s
Line-ups
Northern Ireland: Josh Gracey, Callum Leacock, Keevan Hawthorne, Broghan Sewell, James Simpson, Callum Burnside, Joe Sheridan, Blaine McClure (captain), Paul McGovern, Kalum Thompson, Dylan Stitt.
Substitutes: (used) Braiden Graham, George Feeney, Ceadach O’Neill, Coist Walker, Alfie Friars; (unused) Will Murdock (GK), Jack Doherty, Brandon Downey, Luke Matykiewicz.
Czechia: Matyas Silhavy, Jakub Kolisek, David Rehacek (captain), Jiri Micek, Simon Sloncik, Lukas Moudry, Josef Kolarik, Tadeas Frydl, Louis Buffon, Lukas Dvoracek, Ondrej Penxa.
Substitutes: (used) Marek Naskos, Adam Sosna, Stepan Vodolan, Jakub Rehak, Daniel Svancara; (unused) Daniel Basta (GK), Stepan Beran, Patrik Siegl, Tomas Hellebrand.
