Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill warned his squad that an October victory offers no guarantees ahead of Saturday’s Nations League fixture in Belfast, bbc.com reported.
“We’ve hammered that home from minute one since the players came in,” Michael O’Neill said, bbc.com reported.
Northern Ireland Leads Group B2 with Eight Points
Northern Ireland currently sits at the top of Nations League Group B2 with eight points from four matches played.
“There’ll certainly not be any complacency within the group and I just think nowadays that players know,” O’Neill told bbc.com.
“We’ve shown them enough examples in terms of the analysis to know that this is a team that can really hurt us,” O’Neill added to bbc.com.
Slovakia Reverse Fixture Context
Northern Ireland won the reverse fixture 3-0 in Slovakia, though the team still anticipates a difficult test against an opponent ranked 28 places higher in the Fifa world rankings, bbc.com reported.
Ukraine recorded 73% possession during that match last month, marking the highest possession share by any side losing a Nations League game by multiple goals, according to bbc.com data.
“We had to deal with Ukraine having a lot of the ball in that game,” O’Neill told bbc.com.
Tactical Approach on Saturday
“I wouldn’t say the scoreline flattered us, but the key moments in the game went our way a little bit and we took advantage of that,” O’Neill said, bbc.com reported.
“I do think we had the best chances in the game, despite, obviously, the opposition having more possession, but we defended so well as a team that we limited them to not very many opportunities and I thought we always carried a threat on the counter-attack as well,” O’Neill told bbc.com.
Questions About the Northern Ireland Match in Belfast
Where is the Nations League match taking place?
The fixture takes place in Belfast on Saturday, featuring Group B2 leaders Northern Ireland.
What was the score in the previous meeting?
Northern Ireland defeated Slovakia 3-0 in the reverse fixture last month, bbc.com reported.
How many points does Northern Ireland have in Group B2?
Northern Ireland holds eight points from four games, placing them at the top of Group B2, according to bbc.com.
Related reading