| Venue: Windsor Park, Belfast Date: Monday, 19 June Kick-off: 19:45 BST |
| Coverage: Live on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Sounds; live text commentary, report and reaction on BBC Sport website & app; highlights on BBC One Northern Ireland at 22:40 BST on Monday |
Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill has said his young players must make the transition from taking part in international matches to winning.
O’Neill had to again rely on a host of inexperienced youngsters for Friday’s 1-0 away defeat by Denmark.
It was a second loss in three Euro 2024 qualifiers for NI and, while strongly praising the young players for how they have performed, O’Neill wants them to start believing they can win games – beginning with Monday night’s meeting with Kazakhstan in Belfast.
“They [the young players] are enjoying the experience of international football but what they have to do is get to the point where there is taking part and there is winning,” said O’Neill, who had 10 senior players missing through injury.
“That is what we have to get to in this group and it may take a little bit of time because they are younger players.
“Some of them are only starting to believe they can play at this level. Now they have to start to believe – hopefully quickly – ‘we can win’ at this level as well.
“That is what we hope we can instil in them over this campaign and, obviously, with the game on Monday night.”
O’Neill wants ‘winning culture’ at home restored
Northern Ireland go into Monday night’s game on the back of a cruel 1-0 defeat by Denmark in Copenhagen on Friday night, but O’Neill insisted they have drawn a line under the controversial end to the game.
His side thought they they had equalised in the 94th minute through teenage debutant Callum Marshall, only for the goal to be disallowed for Jonny Evans being offside following a VAR check that lasted five minutes.
That loss left Northern Ireland in fifth position after three games in Group H, but victory at Windsor Park on Monday would draw Northern Ireland level on points with Kazakhstan, currently second.
O’Neill said after Friday night’s defeat that he is not focusing on qualification with such a young and inexperienced squad, but is determined for Northern Ireland to restore their “winning culture” at home again.
“We have already seen the nature of the results in this group. A win on Monday puts us on six points,” he said.
“We can then look forward to the second half of the campaign from there. We obviously have some tough away games to come in September, but I think it is important we start to build that winning culture again, particularly at home.
“When we were consistently competing for qualification, it was our home form that was the backbone of that. We have to start showing we can win games here [at Windsor Park].
“None of the games will be easy. And Monday night will be every bit as difficult as the other teams who come here.
“They will present a different type of challenge to the Danes, but the most important thing is building that belief and confidence in the team to play here and get results.”
Work out of possession vital against ‘unknown quantity’
The major positive from Northern Ireland’s performance in Copenhagen was in their defensive organisation and adherence to a well-drilled plan that frustrated a talented Denmark team.
O’Neill recognises his team will need to be more attacking against Kazakhstan and discussed how the challenge of playing two contrasting types of opposition in a short space of time is one of the biggest challenges of international management.
“I think a lot of it is about the consistency of the work we do. What we were very pleased about was a lot of what we did out of possession on Friday night,” he continued.
“It’s about not trying not to be passive at any point in the game. We’ve worked consistently in a short space of time, both in March and this month, to try to make ourselves better out of possession.
“Ultimately, our quality of play will be determined by our own individual players and the structure of our team. And then confidence. A positive atmosphere in here [Windsor] generally leads to a positive performance and that’s hopefully what we will get.”
A manager renowned for his meticulous planning ahead of games, O’Neill admitted the make-up of the Kazakhstan squad means they are something of an “unknown quantity”.
“They are probably the most difficult team to assess because their players don’t play in European leagues. They are a bit of an unknown quantity,” he observed.
“Our analyst has done a lot of work on them and Kazakhstan have been consistent in how they play. They have also got off to a great start.
“Their big result was at home against Denmark when they were two goals behind and won, so they will be delighted with the start they made.
“But when teams are a bit of an unknown quantity I tend to focus on my team as much as I can. And that’s what we have done in the short amount of time we have had since Friday night.”
