NI ‘in control of own destiny’ – but can they take next step?

Date: Friday, May 30th Kick-off: 19:00 BST

Northern Ireland occasionally has the impression that League B of the Nations will always be there.

Although Tanya Oxtoby’s side are too good for League C, the top tier has always been a distant memory after three iterations of the competition and qualifying for Euro.

They now have a chance to reach the land where they were promised, but they will need to bring about Oxtoby’s biggest victory.

Poland travels to Belfast on Friday night, three points clear of Northern Ireland, who is currently second in Group 1.

It will be a final game shootout between the teams competing for the promotion play-off spot if Northern Ireland loses to Poland on Friday and Bosnia-Herzegovina defeat Romania.

As of right now, League A’s potential play-off opponents could include countries like Iceland, Denmark, Austria, and Portugal.

In the end, NI’s League A hopes are in their own hands regardless of what happens to Poland.

“It’s what we desired,” he said. We wanted to have control over our own destiny in the final two games, Oxtoby told BBC Sport NI.

“This group of staff and players deserves a lot of praise because they put us in a position where we could accomplish something extraordinary and lead the group.” Our fate rests with us.

After scoring a quick double, Northern Ireland lost to Poland in the opening game of the Nations League.

A dramatic 3-2 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina followed by a 1-0 victory over Romania in the reverse fixture before a draw with Romania followed.

The best football Northern Ireland has ever played under Oxtoby was featured in the opening 45 minutes of the win over Romania, and a spontaneous move led to the goal scoring effort from teenager Kascie Weir.

The key to a positive outcome for Poland, according to Oxtoby, will be to concentrate, and that will present a challenge for a “very good team” as well.

We have come a long way since that game, and some of it disappointed us.

They do what they say they do fairly consistently and well. We are aware that they will arrive and pose problems for us in particular circumstances.

We “will hope to give them problems in return.” Our young group will face a lot of difficulty.

Northern Ireland will make its first appearance at Seaview since October 2023 after a number of games at Windsor Park and Inver Park.

The Belfast venue, which they had in place when they qualified for Euro 2022, hasn’t played there since drawing with Hungary in the inaugural Nations League.

The venue’s owner, Oxtoby, claimed they wanted to make it a “fortress,” and that having a compact ground might cause some problems for them.

The ideal response would be “We want to make it uncomfortable for Poland.”

Izzy Christiansen, an ex-england international, has been hired by Oxtoby to help her young squad.

“We are aware of the level of player excellence that Izzy displayed, and she is a fantastic coach as well,” Oxtoby said.

“The girls are really lapping it up to have a female who has done so much in the game and is also brilliant on the grass,” the girls claim.

Simone Magill, the captain of Northern Ireland, said it was “great” to have her join the young squad after playing alongside Christiansen at Everton.

She is well-known to me. According to Magill, who currently plays for Birmingham City, “she set me up for a good number of of my Everton goals.”

She has done it all, and it’s a real luxury for us to be able to ask questions and pick her brains.