He has selected Coleraine's Kyle McVey, Daryl Fordyce from Glentoran and the Linfield duo of Thomas Stewart and Jamie Mulgrew.

The match, kick-off 2pm, will be used as preparation for the vital UEFA Qualifier match against Germany in September. Admission, payable at the gate, is £5 for adults and £3 for concessions and senior citizens.

Roy has mainly selected the very successful squad, who are still leading their group in the U21 Championships, with the exception of Michael O'Connor (following his call-up to senior squad) and the injured Kieran McKenna of Tottenham Hotspur.

However, from the 23 man squad released last week, four changes have been made as Armstrong, Taylor and Cathcart are injured whilst Keenan is under suspension.

With a packed Carnegie Premier League schedule on the afternoon of Tuesday 25 March, Roy will reassess the situation regarding the local players immediately after the games (further information on this will be available on the Tuesday evening).

In this instance Roy felt that with such an important League programme the day before, and with the U21 match being a friendly, he would allow selected players to play for their clubs.

Unfortunately the U21s lost their last European Championship game against Israel in February. If Northern Ireland had secured a point from that game it would have eliminated Israel and placed Millar's side in a very strong position to finish second in Group One. However, the squad's success is now dependent upon results from the other games and a must win situation against Germany in September.

The Nationwide Under 21 International Challenge Match
Northern Ireland v Romania
Wednesday 26 March 2008
Ballymena Showgrounds (kick-off 2pm)

The full squad reads:-

• Goalkeepers
  Trevor Carson (Sunderland)
  Jonathan Tuffey (Partick Thistle)
• Defenders
  Aaron Callaghan (Derry City)
  Christopher Casement (Ipswich Town)
  David Howland (Port Vale)
  Tony Kane (Blackburn Rovers)
  Rory McArdle (Rochdale)
  Kyle McVey (Coleraine)
• Midfielders
  David Buchanan (Bury)
  Michael Carvill (Wrexham)
  Robert Garrett (Wrexham)
  Dermot McCaffrey (Livingstone)
  Jamie Mulgrew (Linfield)
  Chris Turner (Bohemians)
• Forwards
  Daryl Fordyce (Glentoran)
  Darren Meenan (Monaghan United)
  Thomas Stewart (Linfield)
  Jamie Ward (Chesterfield)
  Andrew Waterworth (Hamilton Academicals)