CONGRATULATIONS to Matthew Burns who has been selected by Northern Ireland U17s to compete in a preparation tournament ahead of U17 Euro 2025 elite round qualifiers in March…
The Norwegian Football Federation has organised the four-team tournament at La Nucia, an inland town located 50km from Alicante in eastern Spain.
Game one for Northern Ireland will be against Poland’s U17s at Estadio Olimpico Camilo Cano in La Nucia next Thursday (6 February; 7pm start local time).
Two days later at the same venue they will face Norway, with the game again kicking off at 7pm.
And it’s back to Estadio Camilo Olimpico Cano on Monday 10 February for their third and final game in the mini tournament when Sweden will be their opponents. It’s another 7pm start.
Northern Ireland reached the elite round after topping their group in round one of the qualifiers in November. They registered wins against both Scotland and Republic of Ireland, and were defeated by Lithuania, in Round 1 Group 8.
Round 2 League A will decide the seven teams joining hosts Albania in this year’s U17 Euro finals, which will take place between 19 May and 1 June.
Northern Ireland have been drawn in Group A7 along with hosts England, Slovenia and Israel, with the games in the mini tournament being played between 19 and 25 March at St George’s Park.
Everyone at Coleraine FC naturally wishes Matthew and Northern Ireland the very best of luck.