Nations League: O'Neill happy with draw
Northern Ireland face Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Belarus in League C
Last updated 9th Feb 2024
Michael O’Neill says he's pleased with the side's UEFA Nations League draw which has pitted Northern Ireland against Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Belarus.
He admitted he wanted to avoid Sweden and Romania as he felt they were the strongest teams in pot one for the League C draw. Luxembourg and Armenia were the other teams in the first pot.
“I think they will be good games for the young squad that we have at the minute. It will be a test for them as part of their development as international players,” he feels.
Luxembourg are top seeds in the group, with Bulgaria second, while Northern Ireland were in Pot 3 in yesterday’s draw staged in Paris, while Belarus were in the fourth pot.
O’Neill said Luxembourg have been improving year on year and have a lot of consistency in their play, while Bulgaria will be keen to do well.
FIXTURES
Thursday September 5th (7.45pm): Northern Ireland v Luxembourg
Sunday September 8th (5pm): Bulgaria v Northern Ireland
Saturday October 12th (7.45pm): Belarus v Northern Ireland
Tuesday October 15th (7.45pm): Northern Ireland v Bulgaria
Friday November 15th (7.45pm): Northern Ireland v Belarus
Monday November 18th (7.45pm): Luxembourg v Northern Ireland
Looking forward to this autumn’s Group C campaign, O'Neill added: “We have to make sure that we develop as a team and try and get ourselves to the next level.
“I think everyone knows we’ve got a new team, a very young team. We have to develop this group of players going forward, we have to introduce some new players into the group as well, and the Nations League will give us more opportunity to do that ahead of the World Cup qualifiers next March.”
Meanwhile, in League B2, the Republic of Ireland will face England, Finland and Greece. The FAI have yet to appoint a new Senior Men's Manager after Stephen Kenny's contract wasn't renewed in November last year.
The fixtures are likely to be determined over the next 48 hours, with Matchday One between September 5th and 7th and Matchday Two will be between September 8th and 10th.
The other matchdays are: MD3: October 10th-12th; MD4: October 13th-15th; MD5: November 14th-16th; MD6: November 17th-19th.