How have Northern Ireland progressed since Euro 2022?

Three years ago, Northern Ireland hosted their first major tournament of its kind at Euro 2022 in Southampton.

Even making the finals as a squad made up primarily of part-timers faced off against the odds was a success.

However, with the most recent tournament edition underway, Northern Ireland are now playing at home after losing to Norway once more in the play-off round.

How has Northern Ireland changed or advanced since their historic finals appearance, both on and off the pitch?

Since the Euros, the women’s game in Northern Ireland has significantly increased, according to now-retired record goalscorer Rachel Furness.

“We are definitely heading in the right direction, despite there still be a very long way to go.

The most obvious change has been in management, with Kenny Shiels leaving his position less than a year after the Euros in January 2023.

In April, Gail Redmond took over for the two July games against Scotland and the Czech Republic, and Andy Waterworth was given the reins for a friendly with Wales.

Soon after Emma Hayes’ assistant at Chelsea, Australian Tanya Oxtoby, who was also an Australian, was appointed and took charge of her first game in September 2023.

A number of players from the Northern Ireland squad that led them to the Euros had been playing international football since the senior team’s reform in 2005.

The squads’ average age has revealed the shift in focus. The age of the 23 players who took part in Euro 2022 was 26.7, with Marissa Callaghan, the captain, and Julie Nelson (37), Sarah McFadden (36), Furness (34), Ashley Hutton (34), and Sarah McFadden (38), all in their later years of careers.

The starting lineup for the final group game against England was 29.6 despite the absence of renowned striker Simone Magill, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury earlier in the tournament.

The squad’s average age in their final game in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was just 26.7 years from the Euros, was an even greater indicator of the squad’s trajectory.

The Euros squad had an average of 42.3 caps in terms of experience, but the most recent one only had 32.3, which highlights the work done by Shiels and Oxtoby as youth.

Ten of Northern Ireland’s squad’s players played football outside of the Women’s Premiership, according to their contracts.

The situation has changed, and Oxtoby’s organization now has just seven domestic players. Additionally, eight players have signed to 16 full-time professional contracts.

Some of the girls there have experienced it, and there are young, hungry girls who want to work for a lot longer, Furness said.

Furness said from inside the camp that getting more analysis, from the very beginning to the end, “helps the team make gains” that we might not have been able to in the past.

That is what happens in England’s professional game. You evaluate oneself, the other as a whole, and as a team. The girls are currently on a camp.

The figures highlight the increase in Northern Ireland’s girls’ and women’s football participation.

The Irish FA’s most recent strategy, which states that there has been an increase in participation, from 1,600 registered players in 2019 to 11,441 in 2024, has been released by the association.

In theory, a higher level of participation each year should increase the number of potential international players.

The Northern Ireland Football League introduced professionalism and licencing in the Women’s Premiership.

Attendance at NIFL games has increased by 59%, but there hasn’t been as much of a rise in crowd size after the Euros as anticipated.

The average attendance for Northern Ireland’s most recent eight home games, which included both Euro 2025 qualifiers and Nations League games, was 2, 192.

The average attendance of Northern Ireland’s four other home competitive games before the Euros qualifies for qualification in April 2021 and the finals the following summer was 2, 521 despite the record crowd of 15, 348 that day.

The first home game for Northern Ireland was an impressive win over Italy at a sold-out Seaview in November, which was followed by the Euros’ first two games away in Luxembourg and Latvia.

After that, they didn’t get their next home game until September 2023, when Oxtoby was in charge. With the Euros’ only four home games remaining, it was nearly impossible to regain momentum on that front.

Northern Ireland won’t play on the pitch until October when they face Iceland in a Nations League promotion play-off as they attempt to reach League A for the first time.

Since Oxtoby’s removal, Northern Ireland haven’t defeated a League A team, which is the biggest obstacle to progressing.

Despite having strong victories against countries like Norway, Poland, Portugal, and the Republic of Ireland, NI has consistently outperformed them. Iceland will face yet another stern test, despite their first two defeats, which have left them out of Euro 2025.

The Irish FA has released a women’s and girl’s strategy off the field that aims to expand on “five key pillars.”

How far away are Northern Ireland from recapturing the historic qualification for the Euros?

Furness noted that “I believe we might be close together a few times before it happens,” but that will only enhance the young group’s experience.

“I’m sure the staff in place thinks that the potential exists, and I’m sure they do, but why would they be in place if they didn’t think there wasn’t?”

I want to see us challenge again in the next five years, which comes naturally every few years.