Northern Ireland’s Under-17s were beaten 2-0 by USA U17s in a friendly staged in Spain.
Competition
International Friendly
Scoreline
USA U17s 2-0 Northern Ireland U17s
Venue
Pinatar Arena, Murcia
Date
11 October 2025
Team News
Northern Ireland’s Under-17s played two friendlies in Spain this week as part of preparations for Euro qualifiers later this month. They lost 3-1 to Portugal U17s in the first game, while the second match was against USA U17s.
The 23-strong squad chosen by U17s head coach Andy Waterworth (pictured) was 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
Northern Ireland had a bright start to the game, with Sonny Trainor coming close to opening the scoring.
On 17 minutes Jake Drewett showed some lovely skill to create a scoring opportunity, however he steered his effort wide.
Northern Ireland continued to have good possession without really testing the Americans’ keeper.
USA took the lead just before half-time when Malik Jakupovic found the back of the net.
Half-time: USA U17s 1-0 Northern Ireland U17s
Northern Ireland introduced attacker Coran Madden after the break and he started to pull the strings.
The Northern Ireland defence worked hard to keep USA at bay and they rarely broke through.
Striker Eamonn Tohill missed an opportunity before, on 65 minutes, the energetic Joel Kerr tested the US keeper with a snapshot.
The second goal for the Americans came on 80 minutes when Daniel Barrett scored with a well executed half-volley from the edge of the penalty area.
Afterwards Andy Waterworth said: “We are a bit frustrated because we had enough chances to win the game. We had a lot of good spells but we were not clinical enough.”
He said centre back Alfie Mulvenna, midfielder Finlay Ross and Coran Madden were stand-out performers for Northern Ireland in the game.
Full-time: USA U17s 2-0 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.
