Nations League: Northern Ireland have had little to cheer in first three editions of competition
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The Nations League is not a competition which has come to be regarded with much affection by Northern Ireland supporters.
Since its introduction to the international calendar in 2018, the first three editions have yielded largely disappointing results, with fans of the team having to wait a remarkable 15 matches before having a victory to celebrate.
That 2-1 win over Kosovo at Windsor Park in September 2022 represents Northern Ireland’s sole success from the 16 matches they have played in the competition to date.
Having failed to qualify for the Euro 2024 finals, manager Michael O’Neill will hope for an improved run of results in the autumn when his side play their six League C matches during September, October and November.
The draw for the 2024-25 edition of the Nations League takes place in Paris on Thursday, with Northern Ireland included in Pot 3 in the company of North Macedonia, Slovakia and Cyprus.
Romania, Sweden, Armenia and Luxembourg make up Pot 1, Azerbaijan, Kosovo, Bulgaria and the Faroe Islands are the potential opponents for O’Neill’s men in Pot 2, with Belarus, Estonia, Latvia and either Lithuania or Gibraltar comprising Pot 4.
Before the draw in France, BBC Sport NI looks back at a few highs, but admittedly mostly lows, from NI’s previous outings in the competition. Things can, as they say, only get better.
Disappointing first campaign
The announcement of an inaugural Uefa Nations League was broadly welcomed across the footballing spectrum as an alternative to multiple meaningless friendly fixtures, an opportunity to play similarly ranked teams and a possible backdoor route for qualification into Euro finals.
Initial enthusiasm was tempered somewhat among Northern Ireland fans however as their first campaign began with a disappointing 2-1 home defeat by Bosnia-Herzegovina in League B Group 3 on a Saturday afternoon in September 2018.
Edin Dzeko played his part in setting up Haris Duljevic for the opener, with Elvis Saric grabbing a second, before Will Grigg netted a late consolation for the hosts who had dominated for long spells.
That was followed by a 1-0 reverse against Austria in Vienna and then a 2-0 loss away to Bosnia-Herzegovina thanks to a Dzeko double.
A second home defeat of the series followed for Michael O’Neill’s men courtesy of a 2-1 demise at the hands of the Austrians in Belfast in November.
Corry Evans’ goal had looked like it may provide NI with a first point of their campaign but a Valentino Lazaro strike broke Northern Ireland hearts as he found the net with the last kick of the game.
Even before that fixture, NI’s relegation to League C had been assured but they were subsequently given a stay of execution after Uefa opted to revamp the format of the competition for the 2020-21 edition.
Relegation confirmed as poor run continues
The first game of the 2020 Nations League tournament began on a more positive note when Gavin Whyte’s late equaliser earned a 1-1 draw against Romania in Bucharest in new manager Ian Baraclough’s first game in charge.
The point gained in the Group B1 opener was all the more impressive given that Northern Ireland had played much of the game with 10 men following Josh Magennis’s 39th-minute dismissal.
Any feeling of optimism about an upturn in NI’s fortunes was brought down to earth with a bump in their next game as an Erling Haaland-inspired Norway put Baraclough’s men to the sword 5-1 on a September night to forget.
The match, which saw Steven Davis equal Pat Jennings’ record of 119 NI caps, was played in an empty Windsor Park as measures remained in place to try to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The next month, 600 supporters were present to witness a 1-0 defeat by Austria at the National Stadium, which was followed by a defeat in Norway by the same score-line, with Stuart Dallas scoring an own goal.
An improved performance failed to yield the desired outcome in a 2-1 loss away to Austria but Baraclough’s men rounded off their campaign by securing a point in a creditable 1-1 draw at home to Romania.
That result was unable to prevent relegation to League C however, with no ‘get out of jail free’ forthcoming from Uefa this time.
Long wait for win ends
With Baraclough still at the helm, the third Nations League began on a low ebb for NI as they kicked off a June 2022 quadruple-header in League C2 by going down 1-0 to Greece at Windsor Park.
Three days later the men in green played out a dull 0-0 draw in Cyprus to extend their winless run in the competition, and morale was further dented four days later by a 3-2 defeat in Kosovo.
By that stage, Baraclough’s record as international boss stood at just three wins and 10 defeats from 19 competitive outings, and the early summer misery looked set to continue as his charges found themselves 2-0 down to the Cypriots in the last of their four matches in the space of 10 days.
A Paddy McNair goal and a stoppage-time leveller from Jonny Evans salvaged a point and averted a potentially embarrassing home defeat.
Finally, at the 15th attempt – on 24 September 2022 – NI fans found themselves with a Nations League victory to celebrate, as they won 2-1 against Kosovo in Belfast.
Trailing 1-0 with eight minutes remaining, Whyte netted the equaliser, and two minutes into added time the same player turned provider as Magennis headed home the winner to metaphorically ‘bring the house down’ at the south Belfast stadium.
A 3-1 loss to Greece in Athens three days later completed the campaign but Northern Ireland avoided having to face a Group C relegation play-off.
O’Neill and his squad will be aiming to radically improve the team’s record in the competition when the action gets under way again in September.
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