Euro 2022: NI not good enough to challenge top nations yet, says boss Kenny Shiels
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Northern Ireland manager Shiels addressed his players on the pitch after the game
Northern Ireland boss Kenny Shiels has said his team are not yet good enough to compete against the top nations.
They suffered a 2-0 defeat to Austria in the second game of Euro 2022 - their first-ever major tournament.
Having lost their opening Group A match 4-1 to Norway, any hope of qualifying for the knockout stages were ended, with hosts England next to follow.
"When you look at where we were when we came in, we have reached this level too soon," said Shiels.
When asked if NI can compete with the top nations, he added: "Not yet. I don't think we've got a good future yet because we're going to be losing some of the more experienced players.
"We have to keep improving the under-19s and the under-17s until they reach a level where they are ready to play.
"Some of our players who are with us on this [full-time] programme are not ready to play against these types of opponents. But the experience they are getting from it is part of the development. It is important that we know that."
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Northern Ireland are the lowest-ranked side in the competition, having already caused a major surprise by qualifying - and always faced an uphill task to progress beyond the group stage.
They fell behind against Austria in the 19th minute at St Mary's when Katharina Schiechtl touched home Sarah Puntigam's deflected free-kick, with Katharina Naschenweng adding a late second.
Northern Ireland, who were without injured striker Simone Magill, were forced to defend for long periods of the game, but rallied for a spell at the start of the second half when they looked dangerous.
"I think 1-0 or 2-0 was about fair," said Shiels, who introduced a number of young players as late substitutes.
"They weren't predominantly better than us, but they were in the key areas and 2-0 is probably about right. We've got to get [our younger players] ready to step up to the senior international team.
"Winning the match is important, but I have a priority in my head where if it looks like we won't win it, let's give the younger ones some experience because they will be around for a lot of years yet. We have to try to revisit that as much as we can.
"You try to look at the perspective and where we are, and where Austria are in terms of the level they've reached in the women's game.
"They have one of the best women's academies in Europe and are really tough opponents, but the players are gaining experience from these tough games. We have another one coming and [there is] no bigger than England."
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When asked if he can see the gap between Northern Ireland and teams like Austria closing, Shiels added: "No, I can't say that.
"We've reached this level too soon. There is no way we can transform a team in two years the way we have done - and take it further than that immediately.
"There is lots of developmental stuff we need to do with the players and the 17, 18 and 19-year-olds. We have got to get them ready to step up into the senior international team."