Weir and Caldwell called into Northern Ireland squad

For the opening Nations League games against Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina, teenagers Kascie Weir and Nadene Caldwell have been named in the Northern Ireland squad.

Kerry Beattie, 22, was forced to leave on Sunday after Aberdeen was defeated by Motherwell, and Kelsie Burrows, a Cliftonville captain, was also forced to do so.

Caldwell, the veteran midfielder, has been called back, and Weir, her Glentoran team-mate and Northern Ireland Under-19s striker, has received her first call-up.

Weir, 18, has been compensated for a strong season with Glentoran, which saw her score seven goals in 2024, while Caldwell has not played for NI since picking up an ankle injury in the fall.

Northern Ireland manager Tanya Oxtoby expressed disappointment at not including Kelsie and Kerry in the squad, but it’s great to have Nadene back.

She has put in a lot of effort to recover from her injury. It’s really great to be able to welcome her back because she is one of our leaders.

Weir was scheduled to represent NI in the Under-19 European qualifiers, but Oxtoby claimed she has been watching her closely.

“I got to see her in two in-house games between the seniors and the U19s and she was really impressive”, said the Australian.

“It represents yet another significant step forward for us in terms of the players we are passing through,” he said.

The coaching staff has been upgraded for the opening Nations League games, including Izzy Christiansen and Laura Bassett.

Oxtoby’s side face Poland in Gdansk on Friday and welcome Bosnia-Herzegovina to Larne four days later.