Northern Ireland v Hungary (29/03/2022)

Naturally I was pleased with the win against Luxembourg on Friday, and pleased to score three goals away from home. We were pretty clinical in front of goal, which is good.

Having said that I think we can be a lot better in possession. I thought we gave up possession too easily at times at the Stade de Luxembourg. And we were unable to build attacks as we would have liked. The game had a bit of a pre-season feel to it in the way that you are a little bit rusty as a group and the cohesion was not quite there, but at the end of the day we have to be pleased that we won the game. We move on knowing that we will not get ahead of ourselves and we will work as hard as we can to rectify any issues against Hungary. There were some good individual performances in Luxembourg’s new national stadium. I was pleased with Conor Hazard and Luke Southwood. They both looked composed and assured. It needs to be a squad effort , especially with the UEFA Nations League games coming up in June. Four games in 10 days will be a tough ask and everyone has got to be ready and able to go in and make an impact . Certainly the substitutes we brought on against Luxembourg made an impact , which is pleasing. The depth of the squad now is a real positive. No disrespect to Luxembourg, but Hungary are a different level and we face a tough assignment in tonight’s friendly against them. They are a team who are very much on the up. Going in to League A in the Nations League is credit to them and the work that they have done to improve.

I have no doubt that we will have to be at our very best to get something out of the game because the Hungarians are strong in all areas. They did well at the Euros last summer in the ‘Group of Death’ and in particular they gave both France and Germany a tough time. In recent years they have brought several young players through their system into the senior team and they have developed a style of play that suits them. I think they are very, very good as a team. They don’t really have stand-out individuals. Instead it is all about the team working together, and they work hard for each other across all areas of the pitch. It was great to have a small band of the Green and White Army cheering us on at the Stade de Luxembourg and I am delighted that will be playing in front of a full house at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park tonight . Our fans definitely give us a huge lift and the players love performing here. So thanks for your unwavering support . Hopefully we can send you all home in a good mood after a

positive result . IAN BARACLOUGH NORTHERN IRELAND MANAGER

IRISHFA.COM

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