Northern Ireland’s Women’s Under-16s were involved in a thriller in the first of their three games at the CONMEBOL-UEFA U16 Girls Development Cup tournament in Paraguay.
Competition
CONMEBOL-UEFA U16 Girls Development Cup
Scoreline
Paraguay WU16s 4-4 Northern Ireland WU16s
Scorers
Northern Ireland: Abi Curley, Ella Kitson, Grace Guest, Charley McMullan
Venue
CONMEBOL Complex, Luque
Date
1 June 2026
Team News
Northern Ireland’s Women’s Under-16 development squad are in Paraguay this week to compete in the CONMEBOL-UEFA U16 Girls Development Cup.
They were invited to take part by UEFA and are taking on Paraguay, Puerto Rico and Chile in the tournament run by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, with support from UEFA.
Danielle McDowell Tuffey is managing the squad in South America. She is being assisted by Julie Nelson.
McDowell Tuffey has chosen a 20-strong squad to compete in the tournament in south-west Paraguay. Luque is part of the metropolitan area around Asuncion, Paraguay’s capital.
How it happened
The hosts took the lead in Luque after a minute. A corner was delivered into the area and a Paraguay player headed the ball home.
They doubled their lead six minutes later. Northern Ireland keeper Saskia McLaughlin made a good save from a well-struck effort, however a Paraguayan player netted the rebound.
Northern Ireland pulled one back in the ninth minute. After good closing down by Grace Murray the ball fell to Abi Curley and she slotted it into the bottom corner.
On 26 minutes McLaughlin produced another excellent save, however Paraguay again scored from the rebound.
Four minutes later Northern Ireland captain Grace Guest fired in a shot from distance which was saved by the Paraguay keeper.
Just before the break the hosts grabbed a fourth through a strike from outside the area.
Half-time: Paraguay WU16s 4-1 Northern Ireland WU16s
Northern Ireland started the second half brightly and they reduced the deficit when McLaughlin found Zion Donnan who in turn passed to substitute Ella Kitson and she produced a neat finish.
Murray, Guest and Lauren Kirkpatrick worked hard in midfield to close down the opposition and create opportunities.
Guest scored Northern Ireland’s third goal of the game when she got on the end of substitute Charley McMullan’s free-kick and tucked the ball home.
The WU16s drew level on 60 minutes. Following some fine link-up play the ball was fed to McMullan down the left flank. She cut inside and slammed the ball into the far corner.
Paraguay were stunned, however it was then their turn to push forward. Autumn Edgar, Molly Gray and Donnan put in some fine blocks, while McLaughlin pulled off a superb double save.
However, it was Northern Ireland who almost snatched the win in the closing stages. McMullan crossed to fellow sub Ellie Tohill who produced a crisp shot which struck the post.
There was then a penalty shootout to decide which team would get an extra point, and it was won by Paraguay (5-3).
Afterwards McDowell Tuffey said: “This was a great opportunity for our girls to play against a different type of opposition. It took us a while to get used to the tempo of the game but we showed great resilience and determination in the second half to come back and get the draw.”
Next up for Northern Ireland is a game against Puerto Rico on Wednesday (3 June).
Full-time: Paraguay WU16s 4-4 Northern Ireland WU16s
Line-ups
Paraguay: Milagros Gamarra, Analia Martinez, Brenda Amarilla, Jazmin Torres, Nicole Benitez, Natalia Martinez, Lia De Leon, Yanina Torales, Sofia Villalba, Yennifer Quiroga, Milka Paniagua.
Substitutes: Emily Ayala (GK), Dionicia Aquino, Luana Gimenez, Flor Gonzalez, Oriana Martinez, Shumara Blanco, Samira Castellano, Emma Aguero, Gabriela Ritter.
Northern Ireland: Saskia McLaughlin, Caitlin Shields, Anayah Lee, Zion Donnan, Autumn Edgar, Grace Guest (captain), Grace Murray, Lauren Kirkpatrick, Niamh McDaid, Daisy-Lee Anderson, Abigail Curley.
Substitutes: Ifeoma Agoha (GK), Charley McMullan, Rosa Brin, Jessica Leacock, Molly Gray, Connie Harper, Cara McVeigh, Ella Kitson, Ellie Tohill.
Image: Northern Ireland attacker Abi Curley chases down Paraguay’s Natalia Martinez during the game in Luque.
