UEFA Nations League Preview: Northern Ireland -v- Bosnia & Herzegovina

NORTHERN IRELAND

Michael O’Neill’s men begin their inaugural UEFA Nations League campaign in Belfast on Saturday afternoon as Bosnia & Herzegovina come to town (kick-off 2pm).

It is the start of another campaign for O’Neill in charge at Windsor Park having taken on the role in late 2011.

Having qualified his county for EURO 2016 – their first ever European championship - O’Neill came within a whisker of getting Northern Ireland to the World Cup in Russia, only to be undone in the play-off rounds losing in controversial fashion to Switzerland.

Instead of being part of World Cup 2018, the North took a trip to Central America where O’Neill was able to blood a lot of new younger players.

Experienced players who missed the trip to Panama (0-0) and Costa Rica (3-0 defeat) in June are now back in the squad including captain Steven Davis, goalkeeper Michael McGovern, Oliver Norwood, Niall McGinn, Jamie Ward, Jordan Jones and Kyle Lafferty (who secured a return to Rangers in the last few days – see here).

While this Saturday’s game doesn’t quite mark the start of the direct EURO 2020 qualification process, the UEFA Nations League will shape both the seeding for that route and also provide a backdoor entry for the Euros should they require it.

O’Neill’s captain Steven Davis is looking forward to playing in the upcoming competitive matches.

"It will test us home and away,” said Davis to the media on the eve of the game.

“But we know how important it is to get off to a good start at home and then hopefully go out there and put in a good performance for the fans and keep that momentum going we've built up over the years.

"That's the challenge with the new promotion format of the competition, you want to challenge yourself to get into Group A.

“The most important thing is that we continue on that cycle that we're on and introduce new young players to the squad and keep that positive vibe going."

Goalkeepers: Michael McGovern (Norwich City), Trevor Carson (Motherwell), Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Leeds United).

Defenders: Craig Cathcart (Watford), Jonny Evans (Leicester City), Gareth McAuley (unattached), Conor McLaughlin (Millwall), Paddy McNair (Middlesborough), Michael Smith (Hearts), Jamal Lewis (Norwich City).

Midfielders: Steven Davis (Southampton), Niall McGinn (Aberdeen), Stuart Dallas (Leeds United), Corry Evans (Blackburn Rovers), Shane Ferguson (Millwall), George Saville (Millwall), Jordan Jones (Kilmarnock), Oliver Norwood (Sheffield United).

Forwards: Kyle Lafferty (Rangers), Liam Boyce (Burton), Josh Magennis (Bolton Wanderers), Will Grigg (Wigan Athletic), Conor Washington (QPR), Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest).

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA

Joining Northern Ireland and Austria in Group 3 of UEFA Nations League B is Bosnia & Herzegovina, who are managed by former Croatia international Robert Prosinecki – this will be his first competitive game in charge of the Bosnians.

He was Serbian assistant manager to Slaven Bilic before coaching Crvena Zvezda to Serbian Cup victory in 2012.

After managing Turkish side Kayserispor in 2012 and 2013, he gained international experience managing Azberbaijan for three seasons before taking on this role with Bosnia at the start of this year.

"We know very well the Northern Ireland team because they have played with almost the same squad in three qualification rounds," said Prosinecki to Sky Sports.

"They are a really good team, but we have a good team with great players and we expect to win tomorrow."

Having qualified for the 2010 World Cup, Bosnia made the playoffs for both EURO 2012 and 2016 – eliminated the last time at the play off stage by Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland side.

Bosnia finished third in the qualifying group for the most recent World Cup – below both Belgium and Greece.

Roma's striker Edin Dzeko and Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic remain the key players within the Bosnian squad.

Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Šehi? (Erzurumspor), Kenan Piri? (Slovenia Maribor), Vedran Kjosevski (Željezni?ar).

Defenders: Toni Šunji? (Dynamo Moscow), Ervin Zukanovi? (Genoa), Darko Todorovi? (RB Salzburg), Eldar ?ivi? (Sparta Prague), Bojan Nasti? (Genk).

Midfielders: Miralem Pjani? (Juventus), Edin Viš?a (?stanbul Ba?ak?ehir), Muhamed Beši? (Middlesbrough), Haris Duljevi? (Dynamo Dresden), Gojko Cimirot (Standard Liège), Sanjin Prci? (Levante), Elvis Sari? (Suwon Bluewings), Goran Zakari? (Partizan), Rade Kruni? (Empoli), Deni Miloševi? (Konyaspor).

Forwards: Edin Džeko (Roma), Kenan Kodro (Copenhagen), Riad Baji? (?stanbul Ba?ak?ehir).

Referee: Pavel Kralovec

MATCH STATS

This is the first competitive meeting between the two countries at senior level.

O'Neill's men lie 12 places above their opponents in the Fifa rankings, having climbed two places to 27th in the most recent rankings.

They have just one win in their last seven matches, having won five in a row prior to that.

Czech referee Pavel Kralovec has officiated one previous Northern Ireland game, which was their 2-0 win over Ukraine in Lyon at the Euro 2016 tournament.

BETTING

Northern Ireland 9/5; Draw 7/4; Bosnia & Herzegovina 31/20.

PREDICTION

Northern Ireland 1 - 1 Bosnia & Herzegovina

Northern Ireland

Injured: Aaron Hughes.

Retired: Chris Brunt

Doubtful: Josh Magennis.

Suspended: None.

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Injured: None.

Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.

extratime.ie will be reporting from the National Stadium at Windsor Park on Saturday from the pressbox bringing you all the pre-match buildup, match updates and post-match reaction with our reporters Dave Donnelly and Macdara Ferris.