Northern Ireland’s Women’s Under-19 team were narrowly defeated by Portugal in a Euro qualifier played in Portugal.
Competition
UEFA WU19 Euro 2026 R2 qualifiers (League A Group 7)
Scoreline
Northern Ireland WU19s 0-1 Portugal WU19s
Scorers
Portugal: Joana Valente (37’ pen)
Venue
Cidade do Futebol, Oeiras
Date
12 April 2026
Team News
Northern Ireland’s Women’s Under-19 team are in Portugal this week competing in League A in the second stage of qualifiers for UEFA WU19 Euro 2026.
They are facing reigning European champions Spain, Portugal and Hungary in the League A Group 7 mini tournament, which is being staged in Oeiras on the western coast of Portugal.
The game against Portugal was game one for WU19s boss Gail Redmond and her 20-player squad.
The winners of seven League A groups this spring will join hosts Bosnia and Herzegovina in the finals from 27 June to 10 July.
How it happened
Portugal captain Joana Valente had the first opportunity of the match when she fired a shot over the bar from the edge of the area.
On 11 minutes Gracie Conway slipped the ball through to Rhianna Breen but Portuguese keeper Rafaela Mendonca raced off her line to gather the ball.
Darcie McNeill then fed a short corner to Breen whose curling effort was clutched by Mendonca. McNeill crossed to Clodagh Maguire whose shot was saved by the keeper.
Any Portuguese attacking threats were quickly stifled by Anastasija Stanite, Ellen Hampton and Daisy Conway.
Portugal striker Luana Bessa forced a save out of Northern Ireland keeper Kate Smith with a close range strike on 26 minutes.
Five minutes later Smith did well to keep out a header from Portugal centre back Carolina Simoes.
Northern Ireland attacker Niamh Boothroyd had a shot blocked before defender Zara Boyd conceded a penalty in the 36th minute. Valente stepped up to score from the spot and make it 1-0 to Portugal.
Towards the end of the half Emily Cassap played a superb ball to Gracie Conway down the left. Conway cut inside and curled a shot inches over the bar.
Half-time: Northern Ireland WU19s 0-1 Portugal WU19s
Breen, Boothroyd and Gracie Conway combined well to create chances, however it was Portugal who produced the first clearcut opportunity of the second half, with Smith pushing away an attempt from Bessa on 56 minutes.
A minute later Simoes got on the end of a corner delivered by left back Francisca Castro but her effort missed the target.
Cassap and McNeill linked well before Cassap found Gracie Conway who was unlucky not to convert the chance.
Breen fired a shot over the top before Smith was called into action again to thwart a Portugal attack on 77 minutes.
Three minutes later Portugal substitute Cristina Fernandes had an effort blocked before attacker Joana Reis put a shot wide.
Northern Ireland tried to push forward for an equaliser but the Portuguese stifled them.
Portugal captain Valente had a shot blocked and had a shot saved by Smith in the closing stages.
Afterwards Redmond said: “Overall I was really pleased with our discipline and our workrate out of possession. We forced Portugal to play in areas where they could not maximise their strengths.
“We will try to improve our decision making and quality in transitional moments. That will help us moving forward in this mini tournament.”
In their second game in the A7 group Northern Ireland’s WU19s will take on top seeds Spain, who won the WU19 Euros title for the fourth time in a row last summer. Nacional Do Jamor in the Oeiras municipality is the venue for the game on Wednesday (15 April) and kick-off time is 11am BST. Spain defeated Hungary 3-0 in their group opener.
Full-time: Northern Ireland WU19s 0-1 Portugal WU19s
Line-ups
Northern Ireland WU19s: Kate Smith, Zara Boyd, Daisy Conway, Anastasija Stanite, Ellen Hampton, Emily Cassap, Darcie McNeill (captain), Clodagh Maguire, Gracie Conway, Niamh Boothroyd, Rhianna Breen.
Substitutes: (used) Zoe Knox, Lucy Kelly, Mia Reilly, Lydia Thompson, Niamh Hassan; (unused) Lily Jeffery (GK), Lillie Horner, Tara Kerr, Jessica McGuinness.
Portugal WU19s: Rafaela Mendonca, Iara Lobo, Francisca Castro, Carolina Simoes, Matilde Sousa, Joana Valente (captain), Sofia Liu, Rita Melo, Luana Bessa, Joana Reis, Matilde Nave.
Substitutes: (used) Francisca Vieira, Cristina Fernandes, Eva Carreira, Cintia Martins; (unused) Beatriz Carvalho (GK), Semy Neves Magalhaes, Laura Silva, Sofia Cunha, Caetana Vicente.
Main picture: Niamh Boothroyd battles for possession with Portugal full back Iara Lobo. All pictures courtesy of FPF (Portuguese Football Federation).
Action from Portugal
