Northern Ireland’s senior women’s team are being urged to show a ruthless streak when they play Malta this evening.
The girls in green and white began the league phase of qualifiers for UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 with a goalless draw at home to Malta.
They created several more chances than the visitors in that game – it was played at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park in early April – but could not find the back of the net.
Northern Ireland boss Tanya Oxtoby has urged her players to put that right when they face the Maltese in the reverse fixture at the Centenary Stadium in Ta’Qali later today (6.30pm start BST).
And Oxtoby is in upbeat mood ahead of the game.
She said: “We know what we need to do to get the result and we want to give ourselves every opportunity (to do that) by playing to our potential. The only pressure we have got is what we put on ourselves.”
The manager revealed the focus in training this week has been on being more clinical in front of goal.
“It’s a positive that we are creating chances. We just need to finish them off,” she explained.
Oxtoby is expecting Malta to “have a go” in the game given the fact they have home advantage and they are more used to playing in sweltering conditions. She said her team will be prepared for whatever Malta throw at them. “We are in a good place,” she added.
Three players in the 23-strong Northern Ireland panel who have been plying their trade in England - Simone Magill, Jackie Burns and Caragh Hamilton - are searching for new clubs just now following the expiration of contracts.
It’s not an ideal situation, however Malta have no less than eight players in their 25-strong squad who are in the same boat.
Oxtoby’s team currently sit third in League B Group 3 with four points from four matches. Top seeds Portugal lead the way with 12 from four, while second seeds Bosnia and Herzegovina are in second with six points from the same number of matches. And Malta are currently propping up the table with just a single point from four fixtures.
Today’s game will be played in searing heat, although the Northern Ireland squad have been doing their best to acclimatise to the conditions in training this week. The temperature looks set to drop to just below 30c come kick-off time.
The bulk of the Malta squad play their club football in their homeland. Five of them star for Birkirkara Women, a club based in the city of Birkirkara in central Malta, while another five are from Mgarr United from the village of Mgarr in the northern part of Malta.
In addition there are four representatives from Swieqi United, who are based in the town of Swieqi in the north of the country.
Their most high profile player is 20-year-old Inter Milan forward Haley Bugeja, who has scored 19 goals for her country across 31 appearances.
The more experienced players in Manuela Tesse’s squad include midfielder Rachel Cuschieri, who has just left Sampdoria in Italy. The 32-year-old has earned 98 caps to date, scoring 14 goals.
They also have a centurion in their ranks. Birkirkara defender Stephania Farrugia (32) will earn cap number 102 if she plays in Ta’Qali this evening.
The aim for Oxtoby and her players is to finish in second or third in the group, which will guarantee they enter play-offs for places at next year’s Euros in Switzerland. A win against Malta would see Northern Ireland advance to the play-offs phase of the qualifiers.
For today’s game, and the final group game at home to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday, the Northern Ireland senior women’s team manager has selected the same 23 players who faced table toppers Portugal home and away in late May/early June.
