NI U21s can show they are ready for next step - Devlin

Terry Devlin was one of Northern Ireland's star performers against England last week

Northern Ireland Under-21 midfielder Terry Devlin feels Tuesday night's game against Ukraine is another chance for the side to give senior boss Michael O'Neill "a headache" when it comes to selection.

Tommy Wright's underage squad sit fifth in their Euro 2025 qualifying group and can no longer make it to the tournament, but they drew with an England side replete with Premier League talent on Friday night to build upon March's encouraging away win over Serbia.

Portsmouth's Devlin, who played a starring role against England, sees the visit from group leaders Ukraine as an opportunity to show the panel are ready for the next step.

“That England side are up there. They would probably beat a lot of senior sides around Europe," said Devlin, who was deployed at right wing-back at the Ballymena Showgrounds.

"They have some massive players. You look at Morgan Rogers playing week in, week out for Aston Villa, for example.

“That’s got to be our mindset now. We've put ourselves up there with those guys, we’ve challenged with them, and that has got to be our next goal, stepping in and pushing and giving Michael a headache."

Wright has made one change to his squad for the game against Ukraine - St Johnstone forward Makenzie Kirk has had to withdraw from the panel because of injury and Larne striker Benji Magee has been called into replace him.

Devlin already had a small sample of senior international football when he was drafted into O'Neill's squad for the November defeat to Finland, although he did not feature in the game.

These qualifiers, which for Northern Ireland conclude with a double-header against Azerbaijan and Luxembourg next month, will mark the end of the former Glentoran man's under-21 involvement but he has set his sights on making the step up.

"Just that wee taste made me want to work hard and get into the full squad the next time or the time after that.

“I just need to keep working, keep my head down, and hopefully get there.

"I think that has to be our next goal, and we’ve got to have that in our heads for our careers."