NI ‘won’t fear anyone’ in World Cup play-off draw – Bradley

Northern Ireland’s Conor Bradley says there is “no point” being intimidated by the level of opposition they will face in their play-off for the 2026 World Cup.

Defeat by Slovakia in Kosice on Friday night ensured Michael O’Neill’s side will go into those pivotal fixtures in March by virtue of winning their Nations League group last year rather than as the higher seed afforded to runners-up from qualifying groups.

As such, in Thursday’s draw they will be paired against one of the highest ranked sides in the hat for the semi-finals, a group which currently would include the likes of Italy, Turkey and Poland.

“I think we’ve come on quite a lot in the last few campaigns, the Nations League and this [qualifying] campaign and I think we just need to try and keep continuing on that upwards trajectory,” said Liverpool defender Bradley.

Pot Three and Pot Four teams in the play-offs are automatically away from home in semi-finals, something Bradley acknowledges will be an additional challenge.

The side have won just two competitive fixtures on their travels since O’Neill returned as manager in December 2022 with those victories coming against San Marino and Luxembourg.

Bradley described the difficulty of winning away from home as his “biggest learning” across 29 international caps to date.

“Any game where you come away from home, it’s always going to be so difficult but I think the more you get experience of these situations the more you can definitely learn from it and hopefully we can do that,” he said.

“It’s nice to get a play-off. Obviously it’s going to be brilliant.

Ultimately the margins in Group A came down to Slovakia beating Germany at home while Northern Ireland were beaten twice by the four-time World Cup winners.

Indeed, while it matters little in terms of the final table, Northern Ireland were much more convincing in their 2-0 victory over Slovakia at Windsor Park last month than their hosts were in Kosice on Friday night.

After Tomas Bobcek’s stoppage-time winner, frustrations appeared to boil over with words exchanged between the two sets of players following the final whistle, while O’Neill said opposing manager Francesco Calzona did not shake his hand after the game.

“It was disappointing, really. I think when we beat them in Belfast, I think we had a bit more class about us after the game,” Bradley said.

“They were sort of giving it a bit more. It’s disappointing but I’m sure we’ll see them again.”

Midfielder Isaac Price was equally unimpressed with Slovakia’s response to the win which kept alive their hopes of qualifying not just for the play-offs but automatically at the expense of Germany for the tournament in North America next summer.

“I think some of their players had a lot to say especially ones that didn’t play,” said the West Bromwich Albion player. “I think if you’re playing in the game and you want to have a pop then that’s fine, but if you’re a third choice goalkeeper and you’re not playing, I think just be quiet.

“They had a few words to say. They looked overly excited but that’s a compliment to us. I think they took that as a really big result and it is a big result for them.