Nations League: Northern Ireland have hardly been able to cheer in their first three competitions

The Nations League is not a competition that is viewed with much love by Northern Ireland supporters.

Since its introduction to the international calendar in 2018, the first three editions have been largely disappointing, with fans of the team having to wait an astonishing 15 games before celebrating a victory.

A 2-1 win over Kosovo at Windsor Park in September 2022 represented Northern Ireland’s only success in the 16 games they have played in the competition so far.

Manager Michael O’Neill, who missed out on qualifying for Euro 2024, is hoping for an improved performance in the autumn when his side play six League C games in September, October and November.

The draw for the 2024-25 Nations League was held in Paris on Thursday, with Northern Ireland set to take part. pot 3 North Macedonia, Slovakia and Cyprus also participate.

Consists of Romania, Sweden, Armenia, and Luxembourg pot 1Azerbaijan, Kosovo, Bulgaria and the Faroe Islands are potential opponents for O’Neill’s forces. pot 2consisting of Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, and either Lithuania or Gibraltar pot 4.

Ahead of the draw in France, BBC Sport NI takes a look back at some of NI’s previous performances in the competition, and it’s clear that most of them have been poor. As the saying goes, things can only get better.

The announcement of the inaugural UEFA Nations League has been widely welcomed across the football world as an alternative to multiple meaningless friendlies, an opportunity to play teams in the same place, and a potential back route to reaching the EURO finals. It was done.

However, on a Saturday afternoon in September 2018, the initial enthusiasm had subsided somewhat among Northern Ireland fans, and Northern Ireland’s first season ended with a disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in League B Group 3. It started with defeat.

Edin Dzeko played a role in setting up Haris Drudjevic’s first goal, Elvis Saric grabbed the second and Will Grigg scored in the final minute for the hosts, who had been in the ascendant for a long time. scored the winning goal.

After that, they came back 1-0 against Austria in Vienna, and lost 2-0 away to Bosnia and Herzegovina thanks to Dzeko’s double.

Michael O’Neill’s side suffered their second defeat of the series at home, losing 2-1 to the Austrians in Belfast in November.

Corey Evans’ goal seemed to give NI their first points of the season, but Valentino Lazaro’s final kick of the game found the back of the net and broke Northern Ireland’s hearts.

Even before this match, it looked like NI would be relegated to League C, but this was later suspended after UEFA opted to revamp the competition format for the 2020-21 competition.

The first game of the 2020 Nations League tournament started on a more positive note with new manager Ian Barraclough’s first match in charge against Romania in Bucharest, with Gavin White’s late equalizer resulting in a 1-1 draw.

The point earned in their Group B1 opener was even more impressive given that Northern Ireland played the majority of the game with 10 men after Josh Magennis was sent off in the 39th minute.

Optimism that NI’s fortunes would turn around was dashed by a shock win in the next game as Erling Haaland-inspired Norway defeated Baraclough’s men 5-1 on a September night. It became a thing.

The match, in which Steven Davis equaled Pat Jennings’ record of NI caps with 119, was played behind closed doors at Windsor Park amid measures in place to limit the spread of coronavirus.

The following month, 600 supporters attended a 1-0 defeat to Austria at the National Stadium, followed by an equal-point loss to Norway thanks to a Stuart Dallas own goal.

Although an improved performance did not yield the expected result in the away match against Austria, resulting in a 2-1 defeat, Baraclough’s side picked up a point with a brilliant 1-1 draw at home against Romania. It ended the season.

However, this result did not prevent them from being relegated to Ligue C, and no “release from prison” was scheduled from UEFA this time.

With Baraclough still in charge, the third Nations League got off to a poor start for NI, with a quadruple header in League C2 in June 2022 ending with a 1-0 loss to Greece at Windsor Park. I opened it.

Three days later, the Men in Green extended their winless run in the competition with a lackluster 0-0 loss to Cyprus, but morale suffered further with a 3-2 defeat against Kosovo four days later.

By that stage, Baraclough’s record as an international manager was just 3 wins and 10 losses in 19 games, with a 2-0 loss to Cyprus in the final of the four games, so the early summer’s misery looks set to continue. was. within 10 days.

Paddy McNair’s goal and Jonny Evans’ equalizer in stoppage time earned them a point and avoided an embarrassing defeat at home.

Finally, at the 15th attempt on 24 September 2022, NI fans were able to celebrate their Nations League win with a 2-1 win over Kosovo in Belfast.

White scored the equalizer with eight minutes remaining when we were 1-0 up, and the same player became the scorer two minutes into stoppage time, with Magennis scoring the winning goal, figuratively at South Belfast Stadium. It destroyed the house.”

A 3-1 defeat to Greece in Athens three days later ended the season, but Northern Ireland avoided facing a relegation play-off in Group C.

O’Neill and his team will aim to radically improve the team’s record in competitions when action resumes in September.