Northern Ireland’s Under-17s put in a great performance against Portugal U17s in Spain.
Competition
International Friendly
Scoreline
Portugal U17s 3-1 Northern Ireland U17s
Scorer
Northern Ireland: Calum Anderson (pictured)
Venue
Pinatar Arena, Murcia, Spain
Date
9 October 2025
Team News
Northern Ireland’s Under-17s are playing Portugal U17s and USA U17s in friendlies this week as part of preparations for Euro qualifiers later this month.
The 23-strong squad chosen by U17s head coach Andy Waterworth is chiefly made up of players who are currently part of, or have been part of, the Irish FA JD Academy or have previously played for Northern Ireland at youth level.
The U17s are off to Cyprus later this month to compete in Group 11 in round one of the qualifiers for U17 Euro 2026. They will be facing Armenia (28 October), Cyprus (31 October) and Finland (3 November).
How it happened
It was nip and tuck early on before Portugal pounced on a mistake to open the scoring.
Northern Ireland wing back Joel Kerr, who had an excellent game, set up Jack May and his rasping shot was well saved by the Portugal keeper.
And not long after that Northern Ireland also went close from a corner.
After applying some pressure Portugal scored a second with a fine strike from a free-kick.
Half-time: Portugal U17s 2-0 Northern Ireland U17s
Northern Ireland created a couple of chances after the break as they continued to go toe-to-toe with their opponents. May had another good effort which was well saved.
Northern Ireland continued to play well, however the Portuguese broke away and grabbed a third goal.
Captain Kerr was pivotal in driving the team forward and had a decent attempt on goal.
Waterworth’s side got the goal they deserved when a Charlie Campbell free-kick was saved by the keeper but Calum Anderson was on hand to slam home the loose ball.
Sonny Trainor and Zak Magowan both had chances late on, however Portugal held out for the win.
Afterwards Waterworth said: “The boys played really, really well against a top team. It was the first time some of our players had experienced international football and they were excellent.”
Full-time: Portugal U17s 3-1 Northern Ireland U17s
Line-ups
Northern Ireland squad:
Goalkeepers – Matthew Belshaw, Phoenix Blayney, Tom Hill.
Defenders – Alfie Mulvenna, Sonny Trainor, Calum Anderson, Daniel McCarron, Charlie Campbell, Alfie Wilson, Calum Woods.
Midfielders – Liam Kelly, Charlie McConnell, Emmett Morrison, Jake Drewett, Finlay Ross, Adam Nelson, Conor Wilson.
Forwards – Joel Kerr, Coran Madden, Zak Magowan, Eamonn Tohill, Jack May, Luke Hawe.
