Youth Team defender Keith Kearney has been called-up to the Northern Ireland under-17 squad for their upcoming UEFA European Championship qualifying matches.
Northern Ireland have been drawn in qualifying group 9 and will face Spain, Slovakia and San Marino on home soil.
Kearney, who left Armagh this summer to join Dale, is no stranger to the national set-up, having made several appearances for Northern Ireland at both under-16 and under-17 level. He is set to join up with the squad on Friday.
The schedule is as follows:
September 19th – Spain v Northern Ireland (7.30pm kick-off) – Mourneview Park, Lurgan
September 21st – Slovakia v Norther Ireland (7.30pm kick-off) – Seaview, Belfast
September 24th – Northern Ireland v San Marino (3pm kick-off) - Mourneview Park, Lurgan
Good luck, Keith!
Competition details
The top two in each group along with the five third-placed teams with the best record against the leading pair will join Germany in the elite round in spring 2017. In that round, the eight group winners and seven runners-up with the best record against the teams first and third in their pool will join Croatia in that May's finals. The final tournament will also act as the European qualifier for UEFA's five berths in the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup in India, running from 19 August to 10 September.