Northern Ireland top League B Group 2 with eight points from four matches as Michael O’Neill prepares his squad for fixtures against Ukraine and Hungary.
The campaign resumes with a home fixture against Ukraine at the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park on Saturday, November 14, before an away match against Hungary at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on Tuesday, November 17, as reported by Coleraine Now.
O’Neill’s side enters the block of games as the only team in the competition yet to concede a goal across four matches, having opened their schedule with a 1-0 away win against Georgia sealed by Shea Charles in stoppage time, followed by a 0-0 draw at home to Hungary, a 3-0 victory over Ukraine in Slovakia, and a 0-0 draw against Georgia in Belfast where Isaac Price had a late penalty saved.
O'Neill Selects 25 Players with New Senior Call-Ups
O’Neill selected a 25-strong panel for the double-header, welcoming Portsmouth striker Eoin Kenny and Manchester United goalkeeper Dermot Mee for their first senior call-ups. Arsenal youngster Ceadach O’Neill was forced to withdraw from the selection due to injury.
Five players from the September and October quadruple header are absent from the current roster: Sunderland defender Daniel Ballard, Bolton Wanderers defender Eoin Toal, and Oxford United midfielder Jamie McDonnell are sidelined with injuries. Blackpool goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell and Huddersfield Town loanee Dion Charles moved to the standby list. Preston North End midfielder Alistair McCann remains unavailable due to injury.
The squad features defenders Ciaron Brown and Brodie Spencer from Oxford United, Paddy McNair of Hull City, Trai Hume representing Sunderland, Ruairi McConville at Norwich City, Terry Devlin with Portsmouth, Tom Atcheson from Blackburn Rovers, and Michael Forbes of Dundee United.
Midfield options include Ethan Galbraith and Justin Devenny representing Stoke City, Shea Charles of Fulham, Isaac Price from West Bromwich Albion, Paul Smyth with Queens Park Rangers, Jordan Thompson of Preston North End, Patrick Kelly from Barnsley, and Kieran Morrison of Sheffield Wednesday on loan from Liverpool.
The forward line features Josh Magennis of Stevenage, Callum Marshall and Jamie Donley on loan from Tottenham Hotspur both at Luton Town, Braiden Graham from Everton, Ceadach O’Neill of Arsenal, and Eoin Kenny with Portsmouth.
Group B2 Standings Determine Promotion Paths
Securing first place in Group B2 guarantees automatic promotion to League A, while finishing second secures a play-off against one of the lowest-ranked sides from the top tier. Hungary sits second in the group with seven points, Ukraine holds four points, and Georgia is in fourth place with two points.
“The players have a massive carrot,” O’Neill said.
O’Neill added: “We’re in with a chance of winning now. Of course we want to try and win the group and get to the next level. But we’re a young team, and we’re a young squad. We won’t put that too much of a burden on this group of players. They’ve given themselves a great opportunity and we’ll make sure we do everything possible. Both of these will be tough games.”
“It’s easy, I don’t think I’m going to have to motivate this group too much. They have the opportunity to finish top of the group, the opportunity to go to Nations League A, the highest level of international football we can play at. There’s a massive carrot for them and it would be a huge achievement if they could achieve that,” O’Neill said.
Speaking about the final fixtures, O’Neill noted: “The Ukraine game in Belfast will be an important one for us, before we travel to Hungary for another challenging fixture. We’ll be looking to build on the work we’ve done so far and finish the campaign strongly.”