Aodhan Doherty and Tom Atcheson were both involved for Northern Ireland as they suffered defeat to Italy in the Under-19 European Championship.

Blackburn Rovers' youngsters are both away for the tournament, which is being played on home soil for Northern Ireland. They drew their opening match 0-0 with Ukraine earlier this week.

Their hopes of qualification now rest in the balance after a 3-0 defeat to holders Italy. Gareth McAuley's side will have to beat Norway in their last group game and hope the Italians win to secure a place in the knock-out round.

Atcheson made his first appearance of the tournament, entering the fray as a 64th-minute substitute. Doherty was again used late off the bench, as he was against Ukraine, and played the last 13 minutes in attack.

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A dominant first half from Italy took the game away from Northern Ireland, with Kevin Zeroli and Francesco Camarda netted before half-time.

Camarda then added a second minutes after the restart, giving McAuley's men a mountain to climb. Realistically, they were always likely to lose to Italy but it adds significant pressure on their final group game.

Group A currently has Italy on maximum points after two games, with Ukraine on two and Norway on one. Ireland are bottom, with one point, due to their inferior goal difference.