Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill says his squad is “full of confidence” before their Nations League double-header against Belarus and Luxembourg.
O’Neill’s side sit top of League C Group 3 with seven points after two wins, one draw and one defeat from their four fixtures in the competition to date.
Last month O’Neill’s charges followed up a 0-0 draw in Belarus with a hugely impressive performance in a 5-0 victory over Bulgaria in Belfast.
Belarus visit Windsor Park on Friday night, with an away game against Luxembourg on Monday completing the campaign.
Finishing first in the group can help secure a route to the 2026 World Cup finals through play-off qualification.
“There’s a lot of positivity around the team, which is good. There’s a little bit of keeping people’s feet on the ground a little bit as well,” O’Neill told BBC Sport NI.
“You’re not going to go out and score five goals every time you play. As long as the team continue to do the right things, play with the same intensity, play with the same energy, get the crowd involved in the game, which is always very important in Belfast.
“This is a team that’s going to grow. The exciting time for this team is probably three or four years from now but they’ve got to a point where they’re winning games at international level and it’s a good habit for them to have.”
Team enjoys playing in Belfast
A 2-0 home win over Denmark in Northern Ireland’s final Euro 2024 qualifier 12 months ago sparked hopes of an upturn in the team’s fortunes.
A Nations League victory over Luxembourg by the same scoreline in September and the demolition of Bulgaria in October are the only games the team have played in Belfast this year.
“The lads have had a good 12 months. We haven’t played in Belfast a lot – the last two games have been really positive – we’ve scored seven goals and conceded none,” added the NI boss.
“There are good habits, good traits, getting into the team, and we want to continue that on Friday. We as staff have prepared in the same way.
“The players enjoy playing here. You can see that in terms of their body language, the confidence they had in the game [against Bulgaria].
Promoting youth ‘right route to take’
O’Neill’s squad is full of impressive young players who have made the breakthrough into the senior squad, including Liverpool’s Conor Bradley, Shea Charles of Sheffield Wednesday and Isaac Price, the hat-trick hero in the victory over the Bulgarians last time out.
Uncapped Brighton teenage defender Ruairi McConville was selected by O’Neill for the forthcoming two matches.
“It was the right route to take – and hopefully as the team progresses they agree with that,” explained O’Neill of fast-tracking the country’s youthful talent.
“You’re obviously a bit concerned when there are so many young players but they have handled the situation well and I still think there are one or two young players on the periphery who can challenge and come into this squad as well.
“The young boys have stepped up and we’re building an exciting team.”
The latest on the production line of players to make the step up to O’Neill’s group is 21-year-old Crystal Palace midfielder Justin Devenny, who was called up to the squad on Monday after making his Premier League debut against Fulham on Saturday.
“He [Justin] was on our radar and we’d tried to bring him in prior to now,” outlined O’Neill.
“We’re always keeping close contact with those lads and we’ve obviously brought a number of the ’21s’ up already. Justin was probably next on that conveyer belt to come up. Having made his debut [for Palace] it seemed the perfect opportunity to do that.”