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Northern Ireland begin a new Nations League campaign on Thursday night when Luxembourg will be the visitors to Windsor Park.
Here are the top talking points going into the fixture.
Welcome home
Thursday’s match will be Northern Ireland’s first at home in 10 months. Back in November, Northern Ireland ended a disappointing Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a surprise home win over Denmark, the spark for a series of encouraging results which have changed the mood around Michael O’Neill’s young team considerably. But the draw against Romania and victory over Scotland back in March both came away from home, and Thursday will be the first chance that most Northern Ireland fans get to see their new-look side.
A Nations League reset?
Northern Ireland’s record since the inception of the Nations League is a miserable one with only one win in 16 games to date, and that a late comeback at home to Kosovo. But they go into their League C campaign as the highest ranked nation in group three, which also includes Belarus and Bulgaria as well as Luxembourg. Given that, the target has to be to finish top and earn promotion back to League B.
Pass the armband
Trai Hume has been named captain for Thursday’s match but O’Neill has been clear several players will get the opportunity to don the armband over the next six games, with no permanent captain being named until next year’s World Cup qualifiers. Although O’Neill has an established leadership group within the squad, it was telling that he spoke of having obvious successors in place after the retirements of Aaron Hughes and then Steven Davis. He clearly does not feel that is the case at present.
Jet-lagged Jamal?
Jamal Lewis was still in the air as his Northern Ireland team-mates trained on Wednesday afternoon, flying back from Brazil after sealing his surprise loan switch from Newcastle to Sao Paulo. O’Neill has backed the move, but the timing of it makes it highly unlikely that Lewis will be ready to start against Luxembourg. The 26-year-old was due to do some individual training once he arrived in Belfast to assess what role, if any, he will be ready for, although the left-back is eager to be involved. He could well be needed with Brodie Spencer injured and Eoin Toal unlikely to be fit enough to play to leave O’Neill with shortages at the back.
A shop window for Evans
With Jordan Thompson also ruled out, O’Neill has added veteran midfielder Corry Evans to his squad, having originally left out the 34-year-old who is without a club after leaving Sunderland in the summer. Evans came through a 15-month battle to return to full fitness following a knee injury suffered in January 2023, playing a handful of games for Sunderland last term before featuring in Northern Ireland’s June friendlies as well. “If needed I’m sure he’d be capable of giving us something off the bench,” O’Neill said. “Hopefully that’s enough for managers who are looking for something to realise that Corry’s still got a lot to offer and he does, not just in terms of what he brings to your dressing room but on the pitch as well.”
