Northern Ireland v Austria

GOOD EVENING

Although it isn’t our customary ‘full house’ tonight, I’m delighted that we have 600 supporters back in the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park this evening to see us take on Austria in the UEFA Nations League.

Following on from Ulster Rugby successfully hosting a similar number last week at Kingspan Stadium, we have been allowed to take tentative steps this evening to bring people into the ground, and we thank our NI Executive colleagues for working with us to achieve this. There is still a long way to go to beat Covid-19, and we all need to follow the rules and look after each other, but it’s a good step to take. We only arrived back in Belfast on Friday afternoon after the small matter of the UEFA EURO 2020 play-off semi-final in Sarajevo against Bosnia and Herzegovina. What a game that was: chances at either end, 1-1 after both 90 and 120 minutes, both teams giving their all, and eventually it was down to nerve-shredding penalties. We all know how this story ended, with Liam Boyce calmly breaking Bosnian hearts with his penalty which gave us an unassailable lead. It was a great night for all, and especially Ian Baraclough who managed the tactics of the game superbly, even down to the final substitutions to bring penalty takers onto the pitch. If I can mention the number 120 again, hats off to our captain Steven Davis on becoming our most capped player in history. His 120th cap in Sarajevo will be memorable for all the right reasons, and we look forward to seeing him for the 121st time tonight!

The job is not yet done, of course, either in the context of UEFA EURO 2020 qualification or the UEFA Nations League. A promising point against Romania was a good start for us in the Nations League, but with a depleted team we couldn’t match Norway last time out here in Belfast. We get a chance to show Norway more of what we are made of in Oslo this coming Wednesday, but tonight it’s all about taking on Austria, and hopefully taking revenge for our results against them in the last Nations League campaign. Naturally, after this week thoughts will turn to the EURO 2020 play-off final against Slovakia which will be here in Belfast on 12 November. That will also be a huge night, and let’s keep our fingers crossed that we will be able to allow supporters into that game as the atmosphere you generate definitely transmits energy to our players. We all know football though, it’s one game at a time, and tonight the game is against Austria. Enjoy tonight, whether you’re with us in person or with us in spirit!

Patrick Nelson Chief Executive Irish Football Association

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