Academy Internationals: Mulvenna scores; Benetton shines on debut; Majni captains Morocco

Club

7 Oct 2026

Six Crystal Palace Academy players were in action during the September-October international break. Find out how every one of them got on below!

Alfie Mulvenna made an instant impression for Northern Ireland Under-17s, scoring their only goal in a 4-1 defeat by Sweden in Spain.

The 16-year-old centre-back, who joined Palace as a first-year scholar from Larne FC over the summer, was then rested for the 2-1 win over Switzerland as his minutes were managed following a busy spell at the heart of Javier Alonso’s Under-18s defence.

He returned to the starting XI for the final game against Wales, completing the full 90 minutes in an unfortunate 2-0 defeat.

The three-match series formed part of Northern Ireland’s preparations for November’s UEFA Under-17 European Championship qualifying campaign, with Mulvenna expected to play a prominent role.

Fellow first-year scholar Lucca Benetton marked his England U17 debut with a much-deserved clean sheet in a superb 1-0 victory over Venezuela.

The 16-year-old goalkeeper had been an unused substitute for the Young Lions’ opening 2-1 win over Israel, before retaining his place among the substitutes for their final fixture, a narrow 3-2 defeat by Germany.

England therefore finished the three-match tournament with two wins, while Benetton’s debut added yet another milestone to an excellent start to the season for the young shot-stopper.

That has also included first-team opportunities, with Benetton travelling to the northern Italy for the Como Cup, training under Pierre Sage and being named on the bench for Palace’s maiden UEFA Europa League fixture against Lech Poznań.

Summer signing Taha Majni, meanwhile, captained Morocco Under-20s in their opening North African qualifier, playing 80 minutes of a goalless draw with Tunisia.

An injury sustained in that game, however, ruled the 18-year-old centre-back out for the remainder of the campaign, meaning he missed wins over Algeria and Egypt – the latter securing Morocco’s place at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana – as well as their final 3-2 defeat by Libya on Tuesday.

Majni’s latest international involvement adds to an already impressive record: the Young Eagle was part of Morocco’s FIFA U20 World Cup-winning squad in Chile last year, aged just 17, and has since earned two Under-23 caps.

Elsewhere, Dean Benamar featured in all four of England Under-19s’ fixtures during the international break, starting two and coming off the bench in the other two.

The 18-year-old played the full 90 minutes in victories over the Republic of Ireland and USA, while he was introduced in the 70th minute against both Norway and Belgium.

The latter was England’s first defeat of the window, having opened with three consecutive victories.

Benamar arrived in camp in fine international form, having scored in each of his three previous England appearances against Croatia, Greece and Cyprus, and continued that run of impressive performances throughout this window.

Isaac Ogunrinde earned his first international call-up with Republic of Ireland Under-16s during the window, having recently become Palace’s youngest Under-18 player of the 2026/27 season so far.

The 14-year-old defender made his U18 debut against Southampton, starting in the heart of the backline, before going on to start both of Ireland’s friendlies against France and play just under an hour in each as they suffered 4-0 and 2-1 defeats.

Finally, Rosen Modev started Bulgaria U17s’ 1-1 draw with Estonia, having made his Palace U18s debut against Fulham just before the autumn international window.

The 16-year-old 'keeper was an unused substitute for the reverse fixture against Estonia and both meetings with Malta.

Keep track of how our Academy players get on this international window below!

All times are UK.

Northern Ireland Under-17s – Alfie Mulvenna

Wed, 23rd Sep: Northern Ireland U17s 1-4 Sweden U17s (Mulvenna played the full 90 minutes and got himself on the scoresheet)
Fri, 25th Sep: Switzerland U17s 1-2 Northern Ireland U17s (Mulvenna was not involved as Northern Ireland secured their first win of the autumn window)
Mon, 28th Sep: Wales U17s 2-0 Northern Ireland U17s (Mulvenna played the full 90 as Northern Ireland suffered defeat to Wales)

England Under-17s – Lucca Benetton

Wed, 23rd Sep: England U17s 5-1 Republic of Ireland (Benetton was not included in the squad)
Mon, 28th Sep: England U17s 2-1 Israel (Benetton was an unused substitute as England opened their three-game tournament in Germany with a win)
Thurs, 1st October: England U17s 1-0 Venezuela U17s (Benetton keeps a clean sheet on his England U17s debut as the Young Lions make it three wins from three)
Sun, 4th Oct: Germany 3-2 England U17s (Benetton was an unused substitute as England suffered their first defeat of the tournament)

England Under-19s – Dean Benamar

Fri, 25th Sep: England U19s 1-0 Republic of Ireland (Benamar played the full 90 minutes as England U19s made a winning start to the international break)
Tues, 29th Sep: England U19s 2-1 Norway (Benamar replaced Mantato on 70 minutes to help the Young Lions hold on to the 2-1 win)
Fri, 2nd Oct: England U19s 2-1 USA (Benamar played the full 90 minutes and helped England to three consecutive wins this window)
Mon, 5th Oct: England U19s 0-1 Belgium (Benamar came off the bench on 70 minutes as England suffered their first defeat of the campaign)

Morocco Under-20s – Taha Majni

Sun, 27th Sep: Tunisia U20s 0-0 Morocco U20s (Majni captained Morocco and played 80 minutes, helping his side keep a clean sheet in a goalless draw)
Wed, 30th Sep: Morocco U20 3-1 Algeria U20 (An injury sustained against Tunisia ruled Majni out of Morocco’s second fixture as they responded with a convincing win)
Sat, 3rd Oct: Egypt U20s 0-2 Morocco U20s (Majni remained sidelined, but Morocco successfully secured their place at the 2027 U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana)
Tues, 6th Oct: Libya U20 3-2 Morocco U20 (Still unavailable through injury, Majni watched on as Morocco’s campaign ended with defeat by Libya)

Republic of Ireland Under-16s – Isaac Ogunrinde

Tues, 15th Sep: France 4-0 Republic of Ireland U16s (Ogunrinde played 57 minutes before being substituted for Tom Casey)
Thurs, 17th Sep: France 2-1 Republic of Ireland U16s (Ogunrinde started once more and was substituted on the hour mark)

Bulgaria Under-17s – Rosen Modev

Fri, 25th Sep: Estonia U17s 1-1 Bulgaria U17s (Modev was an unused substitute for the opening fixture of the window)
Mon, 28th Sep: Bulgaria U17s 1-1 Estonia U17s (The shot-stopper played the full 90 minutes and helped earn Bulgaria a hard-fought draw)
Fri, 2nd Oct: Bulgaria U17s 4-0 Malta U17s (Modev was an unused substitute as Bulgaria registered their first win of the international break)
Sun, 4th Oct: Malta U17s 3-0 Bulgaria U17s (The 'keeper was not included in the MatchDay squad for the reverse fixture)

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