Craig Cathcart helped Northern Ireland keep a clean sheet as they had the better of a goalless friendly draw against their Republic neighbours in Dublin.

The 29-year-old, who was winning his 40th international cap, partnered Jonny Evans in the heart of the defence as Michael O’Neill’s men dominated possession and had several chances but were unable to find a way past Darren Randolph.

However, while Northern Ireland were playing out that stalemate, their relegation from League B of the Nations League was confirmed as Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina also played out a goalless draw in Vienna.

Elsewhere in the Nations League, Christian Kabasele had to settle for a watching brief from the bench as Belgium beat Iceland 2-0 courtesy of a Michy Batshuayi brace.

The victory made it three wins out of three for the Belgians, who lead their League A group by three points going into their final match with second-placed Switzerland on Sunday.

Domingos Quina played the first 66 minutes as Portugal Under-20s beat their Polish counterparts 2-0.

The previous day Hornets Academy defender played the full 90 minutes as Northern Ireland Under-19s drew 0-0 against Poland in theie European Championship qualifier.