As Gareth McAuley slumped to the Paris turf, his late own goal having afforded Wales the advantage to win a tense last-16 tie, it looked like the end of the road. That did not apply just to Northern Ireland in the specific case of Euro 2016 but the wider context of the team, who had risen from oblivion back to the top table. Upcoming World Cup qualifying – with Germany, Norway and the Czech Republic in the same section – would surely be a bridge too far.
How wrong such analysis has proven to be. On Saturday Northern Ireland face a crucial game with Azerbaijan in Baku. The significance of it owes everything to Michael O’Neill and his team, once again, defying logic.
“The big thing for me was not to let it drop,” O’Neill says. “The performances have obviously been good but importantly we have looked very assured at home. Things, to me, point towards a team that is still improving. I don’t think France was the peak. I think we are improving not because of the more experienced players – it’s that the younger ones have been exposed to so much in international football.”
Northern Ireland are a clear second in Group C, with Germany the only team to score against them after five matches. Last summer’s experiences have resonated positively in ensuring Russia is an attainable dream.
“I really hoped we would be where we are now but you do have a fear in the back of your mind that possibly there could be a downturn,” O’Neill says. “It isn’t as if we have added to the squad since the Euros. We don’t have a raft of new players.
"I think the team has improved. You can see that by the things we were dependant upon. During qualification for France Kyle Lafferty scored seven goals for us. He has only played bits of games for us in this campaign because of his club situation. So we have started to find different ways to win.
“The time we spent in France was invaluable. You don’t [often]get that in international football, 30-40 days together. In terms of spirit and the group, of course, but tactically and how they train goes up a level when they are in that scenario. And definitely, having had a taste of it … For a few of them, this may well be their last chance and it’ll certainly be their last chance of a World Cup.
“I don’t think they fully recognised what it meant to people at home and that was fabulous. As a player you don’t expect that. To see the impact on the country was the biggest thing. It’s something they should be immensely proud of and what hopefully will act as inspiration.”
As O'Neill's men have maintained impressive form, Wales find themselves playing catch-up in another section. "Wales beat us that day because of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey – that was it," O'Neill says. "They beat us because of the individual class they had, not because they were a better team."
In an environment where bluster has never been more prevalent, O’Neill remains a football pragmatist. His dedication to preparation is endorsed by Northern Ireland having a week’s training camp in Manchester, a friendly against New Zealand and more training time in Turkey in the immediate leadup to the game in Azerbaijan. “We can’t just put a team out and say: ‘They’ve all played 40-odd games, they’ll be fine,’” the manager says. “For some of our guys, the last time they played was April 30th. Some others were May 6th. It’s about finding a team that’s game ready.”
No discussion with O’Neill, or analysis of Northern Ireland’s success, is complete without a nod to resource. In that New Zealand match, Accrington Stanley’s Shay McCartan was handed a debut with that level of domestic competition typical of where O’Neill needs to unearth talent.
“We are ranked 28th in the world, two behind the Republic of Ireland,” O’Neill says. “Martin O’Neill named a 35-man squad the other week. If I named a 35-man squad, Martin would still be in it. A big remit of our under-17 and under-19 coaching appointments was recruitment. We must find more players.
“What we have now is a hell of a lot better. A player with Northern Ireland now has a nice stadium, which we pretty much sell out with a great atmosphere for every game. Northern Ireland is a great country to play for because the fans love you. Those fans will give you so much leeway in the hope that you’re going to be a good international player. With some other countries …
“But the players that we are finding are going to have to grow with us. We brought a young lad into training last week from Rochdale. We are hopeful that he will get a chance to play at a higher level but he is going to have to grow with us. We will never get a Premier League player sticking his hand up to come to us.
“We are still playing above ourselves, I think, when you see the make-up of the squad and where we have had to go to, to bring players in. But we still have that respect from other teams. Opposition teams know they will have to play extremely well to beat us.”
It remains slightly curious that O’Neill has not been coaxed towards another environment. Regardless of when and how that happens – he has managed his country for more than five years – this has been a wonderful alliance.
“I enjoy so much about the job,” says the 47-year-old. “I enjoy the challenge of maintaining where we are at. There is a frustration at times. Maybe we haven’t had the wider recognition, I don’t know, but it seems like a constant battle to maintain where we are. And listen, part of me loves that challenge; I’m not defeatist about it at all.
“The frustrations are always there. They won’t go away because you don’t have like-for-like replacements and want a good hand. I don’t want things going back to turning up with no expectation. I want these players to look back on what a brilliant time they had with Northern Ireland. And I want the younger ones to sample an entire international career of qualifying for tournaments. What you don’t want is to be five games in, three points and suddenly you have 10 guys pulling out.”
As it stands, Northern Ireland enter match six with so much at stake. “This is the trickiest game so far,” says O’Neill. “The Czech Republic play Norway, which is one thing, but they play Germany after that as well. We have San Marino. So it is vital for us to keep that momentum.”
(Guardian service)
