A ‘dead cat bounce’ is always misleading, but Northern Ireland’s players must be hoping that a ‘dead rubber bounce’ offers real possibilities for the future.
It’s been a near disaster in terms of results, but at least there was a glimmer of hope amidst the gloom and despair as Michael O’Neill’s young side defeated Group H and qualified for Euro 2024. Denmark won 2-0 in Belfast.
Admittedly, the Danes had already secured their spot in the top sport thanks to their record against Slovenia and sent out an under-strength side, but so did the hosts at Windsor Park.
But it wasn’t by choice, NI, like the whole group, were severely plagued by injury absences, which was a huge factor in their ability to mount any challenge for qualification.
This year seems to have been a high-stakes game. It was mostly the latter, with seven losses but three wins, two of which came against the world’s worst team, San Marino.
NI literally couldn’t draw any consolation from the other matches. It was really win or lose for him.
The problem with carrying on the positivity from the win against Denmark is that the next competitive game in the 2024/25 Nations League is not until September next year.
After an intense 2023, 2024 could be pretty boring.
The high-profile focus and discussion is likely to take place off the pitch, although it will still be about it.
Even with the addition of another animal, the elephant in the room remains Casement Park, at least further west in Belfast.
There had been complaints about GAA venues being considered as potential hosts for the Euro 2028 football tournament, but these turned into cries of national discontent once it was confirmed that Britain and Ireland had won the bid. Ta.
Protests were initially voiced by supporters and crude chants from the home qualifying match against San Marino. The opposition continued in subsequent games, and then at a key moment at the IFA general meeting.
“I can shove your Casement Park over your shit” – a vulgar anti-Casement Park chant sung in Windsor
The atmosphere there may have been more tense than at most of some home games, with disappointing content leaving fans with little to cheer about.
We approached this campaign with great optimism. Even top-seeded Denmark wasn’t a team to beat in the world, while Finland, Slovenia and Kazakhstan didn’t look like opponents worth worrying about.
Instead, they suffered losses, both home and away, to every potential playoff contender.
Perhaps the most unacceptable aspect of this campaign has been the number of 1-0 defeats. 5 in total.
There is no doubt that they earned one point from most of their five narrow defeats, but that still cannot escape their many poor performances in this match.
Somewhat surprisingly, their home form was flat, with lukewarm results against Finland, Kazakhstan and Slovenia, but their worst performance was away – with the exception of Copenhagen.
A lengthy VAR check ultimately prevented teenage substitute Callum Marshall from scoring a dramatic equalizer for the Danes away, but this seemed to set an air of misfortune for much of the rest of the campaign. Looked.
A figurative chant of “1-0 against them” began to be repeated. But it’s better than the F-word – “4 losses to Finland”, the result of the penultimate qualifying round.
We lost 1-0 after exactly half the match. People, especially supporters, are tired of hearing stories of bad luck. Players and management are tired of telling them.
NI lacked the experience and cunning to break through a disciplined defense, resulting in a perennial lack of scoring ability. He scored just nine goals in 10 games, five of which came against San Marino. He failed to score in six games. Two of those goals came in a 4-2 loss.
O’Neill’s team, which qualified for Euro 2016 and came close to qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, relied heavily on scoring from set pieces, but the current squad lacks that threat.
In addition to long-term absences from captain Steven Davis and versatile Stuart Dallas, a number of other senior stars have also been sidelined with various injuries.
After suffering symptoms for most of the year, young midfield star Shea Charles was sent off in the home game against Slovenia. His absence was evident in Helsinki.
Even without the injury, Charles would have established himself as the starter, but the holes to fill opened up opportunities for other players.
Of these, Isaac Price was notable. Everton’s defeat was not only Standard Liege’s gain. A move to Belgium saw him play regularly in the first team, where he developed as an attacking midfielder, scoring goals against Slovenia and Denmark.
Conor McMenamin is no youngster at 28, but a move to full-time football at St Mirren has brought him even closer to his potential. His speed and directness are much needed and he backed them up with the end product of his goal against San Marino and the assists and chances created in other games.
Connor Bradley missed most of the season due to injury, but Trey Hume was available and showed his quality on defense.
It’s never a completely “dead” rubber, as every competitive match feeds into an increasingly complex qualification system in some way, just as there’s always something for a rookie to play for. The Nations League is currently involved in qualifying for the Euros as well as for the World Cup.
NI started the year in 59th place in the FIFA World Rankings, dropped to 75th place, but has since recovered slightly to 72nd place. This equates to 35th place among UEFA teams and there is clearly a lot of room for improvement and progress.
Mr O’Neill’s accomplishments have quite rightly earned him time and sympathy, even if his predecessor Ian Barraclough was envied.
There will be little real pressure on O’Neill until later this year, but he will need to consistently maintain the signs of vigor he showed against the Dane.
NI Men’s 2023 Results (all Euro 2024 Qualifiers):
March 23: San Marino 0-2 Northern Ireland
March 26: NI 0-1 Finland
June 16: Denmark 1-0 NI
June 19: NI 0-1 Kazakhstan
September 7: Slovenia 4-2 NI
September 10: Kazakhstan 1-0 NI
October 14: NI 3-0 San Marino
October 17: NI 0-1 Slovenia
November 17: Finland 4-0 NI
November 20: NI 2-0 Denmark