Michael O’Neill: Nations League not make or break contest for Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill is refusing to look at the upcoming games against Belarus and Bulgaria as “make or break” for his side’s ambitions in the Nations League as he takes a longer-term view.

When Northern Ireland set out on their Group C3 campaign last month, O’Neill’s stated goal was to target promotion back to League B. After a 2-0 win at home to Luxembourg and a 1-0 defeat away to Bulgaria in the opening games, the next few days will determine whether that remains a realistic goal.

First up is a trip to Zalaegerszeg in western Hungary to play Belarus in a match that will take place behind closed doors on Saturday, before Bulgaria visit Windsor Park next Tuesday.

But asked if these games will define the campaign, O’Neill said he was more interested in the long-term development of his young side with an eye on next year’s World Cup qualifying campaign.

“We had a good first window, it could have been better certainly if we’d taken four points, it would have been better if we’d taken six,” O’Neill told the PA news agency. “These will be two tough games, no doubt about that, we have to take as much as possible from the two games.

“I don’t really look at the Nations League as a make or break competition, to be honest. It’s a competition that has a purpose, it serves a purpose, and it gives us competitive games to continue to develop the team.”

Northern Ireland last met Belarus in 2019 towards the end of O’Neill’s first stint in charge. Northern Ireland won both games but narrowly, with Josh Magennis scoring an 87th-minute winner in a 2-1 Windsor Park win before Paddy McNair’s 86th-minute goal earned a 1-0 win in Minsk.

O’Neill is braced for another close battle.

“I think all the games in this group will be close,” he said. “The results so far have indicated that. We had a narrow defeat in Bulgaria. It will be a tough game, they’re a strong team, an experienced team, a physical team.

“It’s a difficult situation because we have to play in an empty stadium, a neutral venue, which is probably slightly in our favour compared to having to go play to Belarus, where the stadium would be more hostile. They lose some aspect of being the home nation but it will be a difficult game.”

The neutral venue and empty stadium are a result of the sanctions placed on Belarus after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In the build-up to this fixture, the UK Government made contact with the Irish FA to make clear it was against the game being played in line with its guidance to UK sport’s national governing bodies that Russians and Belarusians should only compete in international sport under a neutral banner.

The Government recognised the IFA had been put in a difficult position once the Nations League draw had been made, but the issue is likely to be raised again with Belarus due in Belfast next month – a match for which the Belarusian team will need to be granted entry visas.

But O’Neill denied it was a concern or distraction for himself or his team.

“Those are all things well above my pay grade and out of my hands,” he said. “As players and coaches we can only focus on the team and preparation.

“Where the games are played, when we know that obviously we have to decide in terms of logistics how we prepare but those are things we’re not in control of at this moment in time.”