O’Neill looks to youth for Korea game

QPR’s Paul Smyth and Everton teenager Shayne Lavery have been promoted to a Northern Ireland squad that Michael O’Neill believes will be seriously tested by the in-form South Korean Son Heung-min.

O’Neill has called for reinforcements following four withdrawals and has turned to Lavery, who scored two in the 5-3 loss to Spain on Thursday night, and Smyth, who trained with the seniors in France at Euro 2016.

This afternoon’s South Korean game is sandwiched between two key qualifiers for the under21s, yet O’Neill could still give the duo a taste of senior action, particularly Smyth as he is suspended for the game with Iceland on Monday.

“The transition from being an under-21 to becoming a senior international is short and these are two boys who are testament to that,” O’Neill said. “I see a lot of hope in the under21s – players who can potentially come through and make their mark at senior international level.”

Smyth, a former Irish League player with Linfield, has long been earmarked for a senior call-up and Lavery has also been on O’Neill’s radar for some time.

“Shayne is a player I’ve known since he came in to the under-17s,” O’Neill added. “He’s an interesting player because he’s come late. He didn’t come in at 15, he suddenly arrived at under-17s and I thought he was excellent.

“He’s had a little bit of a difficult year at Everton with his progression and injuries have held him back a bit but he is a player we have great hopes for.”

Paul Smyth: Northern Ireland call-up