West Ham United Academy defender Michael Forbes, on loan at Northampton Town, has been called to the Northern Ireland U21 squad for their UEFA U21 European Championship qualifiers against Malta and Germany.
The 21-year-old captained Northern Ireland U21s as they opened their Group F campaign with a 1-1 draw in Georgia in September.
This month, Forbes and his Northern Ireland teammates will be hosting Malta on Thursday 9 October and top seeds Germany on Tuesday 14 October, with both games staged at The Oval in Belfast. Also joining Northern Ireland in Group F are Greece and Latvia.
📣 U21 boss Tommy Wright has named his squad for the upcoming Euro qualifiers against Malta & Germany 💚🤍 #U21s #GAWA pic.twitter.com/w1eoBNBTNg
— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) October 3, 2025
Forbes has made a strong start to life in EFL League One with Northampton Town, featuring in nine games in all competitions, scoring on debut, and playing the full 90 minutes in both of their last two games, a 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers and a 3-0 victory against Chelsea U21s in the Vertu Trophy. In fact, Kevin Nolan's men have won five of their last six games in all competitions, keeping clean sheets in all of those victories.
On the international stage, Forbes has already made his senior debut for his country, back in November 2023, when he made a substitute appearance in a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tie against Finland.
