UEFA EURO 2016: Northern Ireland team preview

Northern Ireland have finally reached their first ever European Championship finals and their first international tournament since the 1986 World Cup. Michael O’Neill (whose future was once questioned) has done a very impressive job and his unfashionable team managed to top Group F (admittedly a rather poor group) in style as they lost just one fixture whilst they were also undefeated at home.

The Green and Whites find themselves in Group C alongside World Champions Germany as well as Euro 2012 hosts Poland and Ukraine. Of course Northern Ireland will be favourites to finish bottom of the group but they may mount a surprising challenge for a qualification spot just like Costa Rica did at the World Cup in 2014. They may not have faced such quality opposition in a long time but Norn Iron will not roll over in front of anybody and could leave their rivals with bloody noses.

Northern Ireland have come a long way since former Russia striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov claimed to have never heard of the country to which Gareth McAuley hilariously quipped “I’ve never heard of him either”.

EURO 2016 Squad

Goalkeepers: Alan Mannus (St Johnstone), Michael McGovern (Hamilton Academical), Roy Carroll (Linfield).

Defenders: Craig Cathcart (Watford), Jonathan Evans (West Bromwich Albion), Gareth McAuley (West Bromwich Albion), Luke McCullough (Doncaster Rovers), Conor McLaughlin (Fleetwood Town), Lee Hodson (MK Dons), Aaron Hughes (free agent), Patrick McNair (Manchester United), Chris Baird (Derby County).

Midfielders: Steven Davis (Southampton), Oliver Norwood, (Reading), Corry Evans, (Blackburn Rovers), Shane Ferguson (Millwall), Stuart Dallas (Leeds United), Niall McGinn (Aberdeen), Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest).

Forwards: Kyle Lafferty (Norwich City), Conor Washington (Queens Park Rangers), Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock), Will Grigg (Wigan Athletic).

Key Player: Jonny Evans

Although Northern Ireland scored the most goals in their qualifying group, I believe that their strong looking defence will be the key if they are to progress in this tournament. The Green and Whites look to play on the counter, even against the so-called ‘smaller’ nations so a solid back-line will be vital for them at EURO 2016.

West Bromwich Albion defender Jonny Evans has shown he can play at the top level during his time at Manchester United and Michael O’Neill will want him to carry on his good form for the Baggies this season into the summer tournament. Additionally, he is able to play at left back, something he has done for both West Brom and the national team recently, as well as his more natural position of centre half, which means Northern Ireland could have at least one, more defensively minded fullback.

Furthermore, if he is to play centre half, he will most likely line up alongside Gareth McAuley who he has a great understanding with from club football at West Bromwich Albion. The youngers and less experienced players will certainly look up to Evans and take his advice on how to perform on the big stage.

Qualifying 

Group Matches

Poland v Northern Ireland – 12 June, 2016

Ukraine v Northern Ireland – 16 June, 2016

Northern Ireland v Germany – 21 June, 2016

Click here for the full Euro 2016 match schedule.

Verdict

Despite the optimism that surrounds Northern Ireland, if we are honest with ourselves they are unlikely to pull up any trees at these finals. Perhaps if you want an ambitious bet you could go for them to qualify (which includes a best third place finish) at 11/4.

I, however, would recommend that that you stick to the bets in match markets rather than looking at the overall tournament. Unfortunately for Michael O’Neill, you are probably most likely to find winners by betting against his side. Their first match is against Poland (a potential tournament dark horse) in a match that throws up some interesting odds. Northern Ireland will be fired up for this game with it being their first tournament fixture for 30 years and, with Poland’s sometimes leaky defence (no clean sheet in their last four matches – including against minnows Gibraltar), you’d have to fancy The Green Whites’ chances of finding the back of the net. Despite this, you would expect Poland to win. You can get the Poles to win and both teams to score at 18/5, which looks a good bet.

Looking at bets within the team, Kyle Lafferty is hotly fancied to be the country’s top goalscorer at 11/4. However, despite being Northern Ireland’s main threat in qualifying, Lafferty had a fruitless loan spell at Birmingham City in the second half of the season. This move away from Norwich City was designed to get him up to speed for the Euros but he is somewhat out of form. With this in mind I would back either Conor Washington at 6/1 or Will Grigg at 7/1. Queens Park Rangers striker Washington is a newcomer to the international scene but has taken to it like a duck to water with two goals in three caps whilst Grigg has torn League One to shreds this season and was the division’s top marksman with 25 goals.