Northern Ireland v Belarus (15/11/2024)

BRODIE SPENCER BRODIE SENSES SOMETHING SPECIAL IS BUILDING

That growth in stature almost led to him opening his goalscoring account at international level in the team’s triumphant 5-0 hammering of Bulgaria at the National Stadium last month. Getting forward from left wing-back, Spencer cut inside from the flank and unleashed a fine right foot strike that hit the post and then went into the net off the unfortunate visiting goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov. Just over a month on, Spencer admitted he knew the goal would probably not be credited to him but was determined to celebrate in front of The Kop regardless. “I sort of knew that it was likely to be given as an own goal, but to be involved in a goal like that and celebrate in front of the fans obviously meant so much to me. Nobody can take that moment away from me. “It is something that doesn’t happen much so, while I knew it probably wouldn’t be given as my goal, I wanted to celebrate it as if it was. It was a feeling I have never felt before. I had a lot of friends and family in the crowd and that made it extra special.” With a trip to Luxembourg to follow tonight’s home meeting with Belarus, Spencer is confident Northern Ireland can get the results required to finish the campaign as group winners. He said: “We are looking forward to what are two huge games and a great opportunity to top the group. The lads know how important the games are, how good it would be to finish top and we are really determined to go out and get two wins. “We are confident. We are building with each game, getting better and better, so hopefully we can get the job done. To get the experience of topping a group so early on in our international careers would be massive and mean so much to us for the future.” A future that, Spencer believes, could be very bright for Northern Ireland.

Having returned for a second spell in charge of his country in December 2022, O’Neill saw his team struggle for results in Euro 2024 qualifying before finishing the campaign on a high with a home victory over Denmark. This calendar year has brought further progress, with friendly victories over Scotland and Andorra preceding a positive Nations League campaign that sees Northern Ireland go into this final double header top of League C Group 3. O’Neill and his players know that victory at home to Belarus and away to Luxembourg would see them finish in top spot and secure the promotion to the next tier of the competition that comes with it. Brodie Spencer is one of a crop of youngsters whose international careers have developed well over the last 12 months and the versatile Huddersfield Town man said he and his team mates can feel something special building within the camp. “We have a very tight group. We are confident in ourselves and believe it is only a matter of time before things really start to click for us and we become a very strong international team,” the 20-year-old explained. “We are a young squad and know we have a lot of learning to do. It is very early on in our international careers for a lot of us, but we are willing to listen and have been taking everything that Michael says on board.” Having made his debut under former boss Ian Baraclough in 2022, Spencer has now won 11 senior Northern Ireland caps and can feel his responsibility within the squad growing. He explained: “I am still a young player but, having been around the squad for a few years now, I have seen some players come and go and I am happy to take on more responsibility.”

IRISHFA.COM

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