Northern Ireland senior women’s team boss Tanya Oxtoby says she is pleased her side will play Croatia in the first round of the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 play-offs.
The draw for two rounds of play-offs was made at UEFA HQ earlier today.
Northern Ireland will play Croatia home and away in round one at the end of October.
And if they defeat the Croatians in the two-legged contest they will face the winners of the R1 tie between Norway and Albania home and away in a play-off for a slot at UEFA Women's Euro 2025 in Switzerland.
The Northern Ireland boss said: “We were pretty confident no matter who we drew, from our point of view, given the momentum we have at the moment.
“We are really pleased and ready to get going again.”
She promised she will get to work straight away on the round one play-off. She told the BBC that a stringent process is followed in terms of opposition analysis, adding that she is confident her analysts will provide all the information necessary to be successful across the tie.
Oxtoby explained everyone in the Northern Ireland camp is really positive following some good performances in the last two international windows, including wins over Malta and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the latest window this month.
“We need to continue to execute what we do and continue to challenge ourselves. The group is ready for this and we continue to grow,” she said.
The Northern Ireland manager admitted she had “half an eye” on round two of the play-offs, however she added: “We need to focus on the Croatia games. We will look at the second round if and when we get there.”
Oxtoby revealed the players believe they can make their mark in the play-offs, especially as performances have been getting better and better.
“It would mean the world to everyone to reach the Euros again,” she added.
Northern Ireland will be away to Croatia on Friday 25 October (kick-off time and venue TBC) in the first leg of their R1 play-off. The second game will be at home on Tuesday 29 October (kick-off time and venue TBC).
If they progress to R2 they will play either Norway or Albania at home first. R2 games are scheduled to be staged between 27 November and 3 December.
