From Coleraine to Romania, no fewer than thirteen Inver Reds have been competing on the international stage across various age groups during the past month. Take a read at our international round-up below to find out how the players got on.
Dan Bent (Gibraltar)
After recovering from a lengthy period of injury, Dan Bent was recalled by Scott Wiseman for their UEFA Nations League Play-off in their bid to gain promotion to Group C.
He started the first leg in Gibraltar and although he gave away the penalty for the only goal in the game, he put in an overall good performance at centre-back for his nation.
In the next match, at Skonto Stadions where Larne played FK Auda earlier this season, Dan swapped positions and started up front. He played another full 90 minutes with the only difference between the sides being an injury time goal for Latvia.
Logan Wallace (Northern Ireland U21s)
Logan Wallace was a late call up to Tommy Wright’s U21 squad for their UEFA U21 2027 European Championship qualifiers.
Although he didn’t feature in either of the matchday squads for the 3-0 loss to Germany or the 3-1 win over Latvia, he has gained plenty of experience during his first call up to the U21s.
James Simpson (Northern Ireland U19s)
James Simpson received another call up to the U19 squad after impressing with them earlier this season. Gareth McAuley’s team faced Ukraine, Romania and Kazakhstan in Romania in the Elite Round qualifiers for the UEFA U19 2026 European Championship.
James started for Northern Ireland in each of the three matches as the Green and White Army lost 1-0 to Ukraine, drew 0-0 with hosts Romania and beat Kazakhstan 1-0 in the last match. The young Larne man was playing in centre-back throughout the mini-tournament and completed three full games.
Zak Robinson (Northern Ireland U19s)
Zak Robinson was included in a Northern Ireland training camp at the start of March where they also played a friendly against Newcastle United U21s.
Zak played in the first half against an academy side with players from all over Europe. The first half finished 1-1, with Zak coming off in the second half and Newcastle getting a late goal to win 2-1.
Phoenix Blayney, Sonny Trainor, Alfie Mulvenna & Jack May (Northern Ireland U17s)
All four players were called up to Andy Waterworth’s squad for their UEFA U17 2026 European Championship round 2 qualifiers against Spain, Turkey and Scotland which all took place at the Coleraine Showgrounds.
Phoenix Blayney started and completed all three matches, keeping his side in the game countless times throughout the ties.
Sonny Trainor started in the 2-0 loss to Spain and 4-0 loss to Turkey, playing over 60 minutes in both matches before being taken off for Jack May each time. Neither player would come off the bench in the 2-1 loss to Scotland in the last match.
Alfie Mulvenna was called up to the squad, but didn’t feature in any of the matchday squads due to injury.
Zak Robinson, Barry McKervey, Alex McAlister and Owen Mahoney (Northern Ireland U18s Schoolboys)
All four players have been picked for the Northern Ireland U18s Schoolboys squad for the 2026 Centenary Shield. They started the campaign with a 1-1 draw away to Scotland at the start of March before facing the Republic of Ireland last Thursday and losing 4-0.
Barry McKervey captains the side and started in both games alongside Alex McAlister and Owen Mahoney.
Zak Robinson was on the bench for the Scotland game but wasn’t included in the matchday squad against the Republic of Ireland.
Niall Brown and Jayden McDowell (LLS U19s)
Larne Scholarship players Niall Brown and Jayden McDowell were included in the LLS U19s squad for the 2026 Mediterranean Cup. This is now Jayden’s second year at the tournament.
They kicked off the tournament with a 2-1 victory over NSA Camp Joliu before losing to UE Quart by a score of 2-1. Niall and Jayden started both matches so far.
They are currently second in the four-team group and face Majestic Intercambio later today. If they were to finish first or second they will face either Cantera Briga or AC Hostalric in the last 16.
