The Northern Ireland Under-17s squad for upcoming Euro qualifiers was announced today.
The U17s are off to Cyprus next week to compete in Group 11 in round one of the qualifiers for U17 Euro 2026.
They will be facing Armenia on Tuesday (28 October) and Cyprus next Friday (31 October) followed by Finland on 3 November.
The 20-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.
Waterworth’s panel includes three players who were not included in a 23-strong squad for friendlies against Portugal U17s (3-1 defeat) and USA U17s (2-0 defeat) earlier this month.
They are Aston Villa striker Jahmi Kellyman, Glenavon attacking midfielder Harry Gough and Cliftonville defender Sean Cassidy.
Missing out this time are goalkeeper Tom Hill (Shrewsbury Town), defender Sonny Trainor (Larne) and the midfield quartet of Emmett Morrison (Sheffield United), Jake Drewett (Bournemouth), Adam Nelson (Glentoran) and Conor Wilson (Coleraine).
The game against Armenia is being staged at the Municipal Stadium in Sotira on 28 October (9am kick-off GMT), while the match against hosts Cyprus on 31 October is at the home of Ethnikos Achna FC in Dasaki Achnas (9am start GMT).
The third and final group game for Northern Ireland U17s, against Finland on Monday 3 November, will be played at the Municipal Stadium in Sotira. And it also has a 9am kick-off GMT.
In round one of the qualifiers the top two teams from 14 groups will advance to Round 2 League A, while the other teams will play in Round 2 League B.
The second set of qualifiers will be played next spring. In Round 2 League A 28 teams will be drawn into seven groups of four, with the winners of each group qualifying for the final tournament in Estonia next May.
The Northern Ireland U17s squad for the R1 Euro qualifiers in Cyprus is as follows:
Goalkeepers – Matthew Belshaw (Glentoran), Phoenix Blayney (Larne),
Defenders – Calum Anderson (Southampton), Daniel McCarron (Dungannon Swifts), Alfie Mulvenna (Larne), Charlie Campbell (Linfield), Alfie Wilson (Hearts), Calum Woods (Dundalk), Sean Cassidy (Cliftonville).
Midfielders – Charlie McConnell (Bohemians), Coran Madden (Brentford), Finlay Ross (Linfield), Harry Gough (Glenavon), Liam Kelly (Derry City).
Forwards – Luke Hawe (Southampton), Joel Kerr (West Ham United), Zak Magowan (Glentoran), Eamonn Tohill (Cliftonville), Jack May (Larne), Jahmi Kellyman (Aston Villa).
Image: Joel Kerr, seen here in action against Scotland, has been included in the U17s squad bound for Cyprus.
