‘Price’s goals can be worth weight in gold for NI’

Stuart Dallas, a former Northern Ireland player and Leeds United player, is covered by BBC Sport NI’s coverage of Luxembourg’s 2026 World Cup qualifying match on Thursday.

The excitement that comes with a brand-new qualification campaign is always high.

Every attempt to reach a major tournament begins with a hopeful attitude, and there is also pressure to try to reach the sport’s biggest stage.

Isaac Price is a player I’m really looking forward to watching in that setting.

Even at the age of 21, he has already developed into a major player under Michael O’Neill, and he has a habit of appearing in the right place at the right moment in front of goal.

Isaac has a great start to his season, and West Brom has won the championship.

He plays a significant role in Michael’s plans and this side. He has a lot of talent. He has a different approach than the majority of players.

He backed himself and has performed well since leaving Everton by taking a big gamble to move to Standard Liege in Belgium.

He has been fantastic since joining the Hawthorns and is now back in England with West Brom.

Wrexham and I covered the game, and he scored twice. He simply has this personality, which makes him susceptible to veer off and on throughout a game.

Finding a consistent goalscorer in international football is crucial.

Pierce Charles and Daniel Ballard have both been injured, and Michael was probably watching the final two league games from behind the sofa in the hopes that everyone would recover from the accident.

It’s devastating to miss important players, and Michael shouldn’t suffer as a result.

Now that Pierce is out and Conor Hazard is still sidelined, he finds it difficult to play goalkeeping. Everything depends on Michael’s preferred style. Different players are needed for various games.

Pierce’s ability to move the ball at his feet is something we are aware of, but he may be a little smaller than a Bailey Peacock-Farrell, for instance.

Unlike playing against Germany, playing against Luxembourg is different. He might want to kick the pitch long and raise everyone.

It won’t cause too much disruption to the team, but it might alter Michael’s style of play.

There are goalkeepers there who are more than capable of intervening. Bailey has frequently acted for Northern Ireland.

Stuart Dallas spoke with Jonathan Bradley of BBC Sport NI.