Northern Ireland’s Under-16 development team are set to compete in a UEFA development tournament in Estonia next week.
Under-16 national teams from Ukraine, Luxembourg and Estonia will provide the opposition, with the first of the games being staged on Tuesday 23 April.
That game, against the Ukrainians, is due to kick off at 1pm CET (noon BST) at the Estonian Football Association’s national training centre in Tallinn, which is the venue for all of the games in the four-team tournament.
Matchday two, on 25 April, will see Northern Ireland take on Luxembourg (1pm CET).
And their final game is against the hosts on Sunday 28 April, with a 4pm CET start.
Head coach Kris Lindsay said the tournament will help to boost the young players’ development and give them another taste of playing football on the international stage.
The bulk of the players in the panel attend the Irish FA JD Academy based at Ulster University’s Jordanstown campus.
The 20-strong U16 development squad features:
Goalkeepers – Finn McDonnell (Bohemians), Zak Robinson (Larne).
Defenders – Darragh McCann and Jayden Charnley (both Glentoran), Leon Barr and Cohen Beattie (both Crusaders), Noah McDonnell (Larne), Oisin Gamble (Cliftonville).
Midfielders – Callum Downey and Glenn McCourt (both Derry City), Christian Coyle (Bohemians), Jack Faloona (Glentoran), Matthew Burns (Coleraine), Harry Allen (Linfield).
Forwards – Kalum Thompson and Scott Hamilton (both Linfield), Chris Atherton (Glenavon), Brandon Downey (Crusaders), Sid Eldred (Ipswich Town), Shay Reid (Cliftonville).
Image: Matthew Burns, seen here in action for Northern Ireland U16s against Australia U16s/U17s earlier this year, is off to Estonia with the U16s next week.
