Gareth McAuley has revealed his panel for the elite round of qualifiers for U19 Euro 2026.
Northern Ireland Under-19s boss McAuley will be taking a 20-strong squad to Romania next week for games against Ukraine, Romania and Kazakhstan.
McAuley’s panel for the Group 5 mini tournament shows four changes from the squad that reached stage two after finishing second in Group 13 in the qualifying round back in November.
The Group 13 mini tournament was staged in Malta where Northern Ireland’s U19s defeated the hosts and Azerbaijan but lost against Czechia, who topped the group on seven points.
Coming in to the panel this time are Bangor defender Alfie Mitchell and Coleraine defender Senan Devine along with midfielder Sean Corry (Derby County)) and Preston North End forward Max Wilson.
However, two of the four players not included for the elite round will instead be joining another Northern Ireland U19s squad who will be playing in the qualifying round for U19 Euro 2027 this month. They are midfielders Brandon Downey (Portsmouth) and Kalum Thompson (Nottingham Forest),
The two other players missing out this time are midfielder Callum Burnside (Rangers) and defender Alfie Friars (Derby County).
There are seven groups in the elite round and the winners of each group will join hosts Wales at the UEFA U19 finals this summer.
McAuley’s side are set to face Group 5 top seeds Ukraine in their first elite round qualifier next Wednesday (25 March). The venue for the game is the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) football centre in Buftea, in south-east Romania, and it is due to kick off at 9am GMT.
Matchday two for the U19s is on Saturday 28 March when they will take on second seeds Romania at the Clinceni Arena in Clinceni (2.30pm GMT).
Their final group game is against third seeds Kazakhstan on Tuesday 31 March at the FRF football centre in Buftea (3pm BST).
The squad for the elite round games this month is as follows:
Goalkeepers – Will Murdock (Manchester United), Josh Gracey (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Defenders – Callum Leacock (West Ham United), Luke Matykiewicz (Leeds United), Alfie Mitchell (Bangor), Coist Walker (Hull City), James Simpson (Larne), Keevan Hawthorne (Cliftonville), Broghan Sewell (Southampton), Senan Devine (Coleraine).
Midfielders – Dylan Stitt (Luton Town), Jack Doherty (Crusaders), Sean Corry (Derby County), Blaine McClure (Nottingham Forest, on loan from Rangers), Ceadach O’Neill (Arsenal), Joe Sheridan (Cliftonville).
Forwards – George Feeney (Tottenham Hotspur), Braiden Graham (Everton), Paul McGovern (Glenavon), Max Wilson (Preston North End).
