WAYNE Buchanan will take the next step up the international ladder next week as a fully-fledged first team player.

The 20-year-old Wanderer, named in the Northern Ireland U-21 squad to face Germany in Belfast on Tuesday, made his senior debut as a half time substitute for the injured Mike Whitlow hours later in the FA Cup tie at Spurs.

And although his big night ended in a 4-0 defeat, Sam Allardyce said the kid did well. "He didn't let us down," the manager said. "There was nothing he could have done about either of the two second half goals."

Buchanan - born in Bambridge, County Down - has already been capped at U-18 level.