Tanya Oxtoby says her players are “keen for the game” ahead of the first of Northern Ireland’s two UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 play-off matches against Croatia.
Northern Ireland are due to face the Croatians in the first leg of the round one play-off at the Stadion Varteks in Varazdin later today (6pm BST start).
The Northern Ireland senior women’s team manager revealed the squad have been “vibrant” in training this week ahead of the encounter in the city on the Drava River in northern Croatia. She revealed there hasbeen a real enthusiasm in the camp.
She explained “everyone is really keen for the game”, adding: “I feel like the squad composition is really, really positive in terms of what we’re going after against Croatia.”
And Oxtoby told the BBC yesterday: "We had two really good results in the last window, so we want to build on that and get off to a good start.”
The Northern Ireland boss will be looking for a positive result to take back to Belfast for the second leg, which is being staged at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park on Tuesday (29 October) at 7pm.
Earlier this week she revealed: “Everyone is really excited to be back together. We know how important these games are so our focus over the next few days is working hard so that we are in the best possible position to bring home a good result.”
The bulk of the Croatia squad play their club football in their homeland.
However, there are some notable exceptions, not least goalkeeper Doris Bacic. The 29-year-old, who has 84 caps for her country, plays for Napoli in Italy.
Experienced defender Ana Jelencic (30), who has 55 caps, plays for Servette in Switzerland and fellow defender Maria Kunstek (25) is with Oud Heverlee Leuven in Belgium. She has 32 caps to date.
Twenty-year-old midfielder Tea Krznaric (23 caps) is on the books of Austrian side SKN St Polten and midfielder Ivana Slipcevic (aged 26; 19 caps) is with German outfit Ingolstadt.
Their most potent forward, Ivana Rudelic, plays in Switzerland for Basel 1893. The 32-year-old has netted 20 international goals in 51 appearances.
The driving force of the team, however, are three players who operate in the Croatian top flight with the same club, Osijek.
Izabela Lojna (32) has 88 caps for her country and 13 goals, Maja Joscak (34) has made 77 appearances for Croatia and scored on 20 occasions, while 28-year-old Anela Lubina has scored twice in earning 46 caps.
Northern Ireland cemented their place in round one of the play-offs back in July with victories over Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-0 at home) and Malta (2-0 away) in the UEFA Women’s Nations League. They finished second behind Portugal in League B Group 3.
Croatia finished third in four-team League B Group 4 on nine points behind winners Wales (14 points) and runners-up Ukraine (11 points).
In the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking list Northern Ireland are in 45th and Croatia are 57th.
If Oxtoby’s team 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.
Tickets for the game against Croatia in Belfast next Tuesday are available at irishfa.com/tickets.
Tonight’s game is being streamed live on the BBC Sport NI website.
Training in Croatia
