Northern Ireland UEFA Nations League Fixtures, Squad, Group, Guide
Grouped alongside Bosnia-Herzegovina and Austria, Northern Ireland have lost Chris Brunt to retirement but they have had a big boost with Will Grigg coming back into the side after a period of time away from the international game.
“Will was unavailable to us because of an injury for a long time, then he had some personal issues and didn’t want to be selected,” said O’Neill.
“I respected that and we kept a close eye on him, but I didn’t bring him away in the summer because he had a long season and didn’t need additional football.”
“Will has made a good start to the season with Wigan, he’s a good boy and we love having him in the squad.”
The Irish begin their UEFA Nations League campaign against Bosnia-Herzegovina on the 8th of September.
Chris Brunt has retired from international duty (Getty Images)
The Coach
Michael O’Neill, age 49, (05.07.1969)
O’Neill has been head-coach for Northern Ireland since 2011 and has had mixed success. He started poorly losing to Norway and the Netherlands but in 2016 he guided the side to the round of 16 in the European Championships, where they lost 1-0 to Wales.
Michael O’Neill, manager of Northern Ireland (getty Images)
Northern Ireland UEFA Nations League Group
Northern Ireland are in League B, Group 3 with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Austria.
(UEFA)
Northern Ireland UEFA Nations League Fixtures
08/09/2018 Saturday 15:00 B3 Northern Ireland 1 vs Bosnia-Herzegovina 2
12/10/2018 Friday 20:45 B3 Austria 1 vs Northern Ireland 0
15/10/2018 Monday 20:45 B3 Bosnia-Herzegovina 2 vs Northern Ireland 0
18/11/2018 Sunday 18:00 B3 Northern Ireland vs Austria
Northern Ireland UEFA Nations League Squad
Northern Ireland Nations League squad:
GOALKEEPERS: Michael McGovern (Norwich), Trevor Carson (Motherwell), Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Leeds)
DEFENDERS: Craig Cathcart (Watford), Jonny Evans (Leicester), Aaron Hughes (Hearts), Tom Flanagan (Sunderland), Conor McLaughlin (Millwall), Paddy McNair (Middlesbrough), Michael Smith (Hearts), Jamal Lewis (Norwich)
MIDFIELDERS: Steven Davis (Southampton), Niall McGinn (Aberdeen), Stuart Dallas (Leeds), Corry Evans (Blackburn), Shane Ferguson (Millwall), George Saville (Middlesbrough), Jordan Jones (Kilmarnock), Oliver Norwood (Brighton, on loan at Sheffield United), Gavin Whyte (Oxford United)
FORWARDS: Kyle Lafferty (Rangers), Liam Boyce (Burton), Josh Magennis (Bolton), Will Grigg (Wigan), Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest, on loan at Charlton)
