Northern Ireland U21 0-0 England U21: Young Lions suffer setback in Euro qualifiers after stalemate | Football News

England Under-21s’ hopes of automatically qualifying for next year’s European Championship finals were dealt a major blow when they were held to a 0-0 draw against Northern Ireland.

Ben Futcher made his first appearance after Lee Carsley was promoted to the first team, but things didn’t go to plan in Ballymena as the home side dug in.

Reigning champions England were already behind after losing to Ukraine earlier in the qualifying campaign and may now have to settle for a place in the play-offs.

Futcher was forced to make changes after losing several players from his original squad, including Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, and England struggled to break through Northern Ireland’s overcrowded defence.

Manchester City’s James McAtee, the standout talent, forced Pierce Charles into a first save after 25 minutes with a clever turn and a shot that was deflected.

Charles then came into action to stop Jonathan Rowe after being played in by Elliot Anderson, while England goalkeeper James Trafford was left stranded for treatment after a late foul by JJ McKiernan.

Trafford were able to continue playing, but the visitors’ frustration continued when Morgan Rogers headed a free kick over.

McAtee started the second half with a save from Charles at the near post. However, there were few real chances and the home team started to become increasingly dangerous.

Substitute Makenzie Kirk fired over in the 76th minute and after Charles made another fine save from Anderson, Justin Devenny almost sealed victory for Northern Ireland with a spectacular long-range volley that just went over the bar.

England play a friendly against Austria at Kenilworth Road on Monday, while Northern Ireland play Ukraine on Tuesday.