Northern Ireland v Lithuania (12/11/2021)

“The Lithuania game is also going to be a good test . I thought we were good in Vilnius. We were clinical and wee Shayne Lavery was brilliant that night . He chased everything and made it difficult for them.” While Thompson and his midfield colleagues hope to provide the ammunition for the strikers to score goals, the defence has also had a huge role to play. And keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell has proved time and time again he could be the international number one for years to come. The ex-Leeds United ace has impressed on loan with Sheffield Wednesday from Burnley this season, and his penalty save in Lithuania in September played a massive role in an impressive 4-1 win. “Bailey made a massive save from the penalty and at a really crucial stage because if they’d scored the game could have gone either way,” said Thompson. “At this level there are going to be teams who try to punish you but Bailey has been brilliant for us on numerous occasions. He always pulls out brilliant saves to give us the chance to go on and win matches. He’s been fantastic since he came in. “We hope to play well and get a good result in the first game and hopefully take that confidence into the Italy game.” The Irish FA Board unanimously decided to reward manager Ian Baraclough with a new two-year deal and Thompson is delighted his former U21s boss will be in the hotseat moving forward. He said: “Everyone can see what we are trying to do. I worked with Bara in the Under-21s and I think everyone in the squad would say he’s been very good since he came in. “He’s brilliant around the boys and it was always going to be hard for anyone coming in after Michael O’Neill because he did such a good job. But once we get a good run of results everyone will be happy.” Thompson is enjoying having the best of both worlds, getting more and more game time for his country and working under former international chief O’Neill .

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT...

Defeats to Switzerland and Bulgaria meant the end of the road for Ian Baraclough’s men, but with several young players establishing themselves in the side in the past 18 months the Stoke City midfielder insists the future is bright at international level despite missing out on a major tournament for the third time running. He said: “Last month was a hard one. The Switzerland game was always going to be tough and with the mad sending off of Jamal (Lewis) it was always going to be even harder with 10 men,” he said. “We had to put that one behind us and focus on the Bulgaria game and I thought we started that game really well and got the goal in the first half. “We moved the ball well and created a good few chances but I don’t know what happened in that second half. “They came out and changed their formation a little bit and put the pressure on. They scored two really good goals with a bit of individual class but we had to put that to one side when we went back to our clubs.” He revealed the players subsequently watched re- runs of the Bulgaria match and fully realise there are things they need to work on to get better. The midfielder further pointed out : “Anyone who has come into the squad has trained well and the young boys have really stepped up. Conor Bradley has come in recently and played a few games and at his age he’s done brilliantly. “It’s going to take time and even though everyone wants results constantly I think the fans can see what way we want to play and the future is

definitely bright for Northern Ireland. “We want to end this campaign on a high.

Everyone is obviously looking forward to the Italy game on Monday and that game kind of takes care of itself.

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NIR V LTU