Northern Ireland senior men’s team manager Michael O’Neill is expecting Belarus to be aggressive and physical in tonight’s UEFA Nations League encounter between the two countries.
The UNL League C Group 3 game is being staged on neutral ground – at the ZTE Arena in the city of Zalaegerszeg in western Hungary (19.45 BST).
Due to Belarusian involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, UEFA has banned Belarusian national and club teams from hosting international matches and competitions while allowing them to play competitively, albeit at a neutral venue and behind closed doors.
Michael O’Neill said: “They have had a good start (in C3) with four points from the opening two games. It’s a bit of a bizarre situation having to play them in a neutral venue and an empty stadium but we expect a tough game.”
He expects Belarus to press in the game, pointing out that they have a Spanish coach, Carlos Alos Ferrer, who likes to play either a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 system.
The Northern Ireland boss noted there are similarities in how both teams play.
“I think it will be a game where there will be a lot of one to one situations, however we are optimistic and we believe it’s a game we are capable of winning,” he added.
O’Neill pointed out Belarus have an older age profile than Northern Ireland and they are physical and aggressive in their play.
Belarus drew 0-0 with Bulgaria at the ZTE Arena in their first C3 game and then defeated Luxembourg away by a goal to nil. They currently share top spot in the table with the Bulgarians, while Northern Ireland are third with three points.
The bulk of the Belarus squad play their club football in Belarus, Russia or Kazakhstan.
Their most experienced player is defender Alyaksandr Martynovich, who plays for Kairat in Kazakhstan. The 37-year-old has 77 caps to date. Another defender, Dinamo Minsk’s Denis Polyakov (33), has 64 caps. They are the only players in the Belarus squad with more than 50 caps.
Their goal against Luxembourg was scored by midfielder Valery Gromyko. The 27-year-old, who has 18 caps, also plays for Kairat. The player with most international goals in their squad is Max Ebong. The 25-year-old, who plays for Astana in Kazakhstan, has netted five for his country to date.
The Belarus front line is relatively inexperienced. Twenty-seven-year-old Dmitry Antilevsky (Hapoel Haifa, Israel) has two goals in 15 appearances, while Yevgeny Shikavka (aged 31; Korona Kielce, Poland), with four caps, and German Barkovsky (aged 22; Dinamo Brest, Belarus), with two caps, have not scored for their national team to date.
Michael O’Neill also revealed yesterday that Liverpool wing-back Conor Bradley will captain the team for the first time this evening. The 21-year-old, who has 19 caps to date, said he was immensely proud to be named skipper of his country.
Earlier this week O’Neill lost regular number one Bailey Peacock-Farrell to injury. The goalkeeper has returned to his club, Birmingham City, for treatment on a shoulder problem.
It means an inexperienced keeper will be between the sticks tonight. Bolton Wanderers’ Luke Southwood has just one senior cap to his name, while Sheffield Wednesday’s Pierce Charles and Mansfield Town’s Christy Pym, who has been called up to the squad for the first time, are uncapped.
However, the manager insisted he would trust any one of the three keepers to do a job for him in Hungary.
Sunderland defender Daniel Ballard also had to withdraw from the squad at the start of the week and has returned to his club for treatment on an ankle injury.
Goalkeeper Pym plus Motherwell defender Kofi Balmer and ADO Den Haag striker Lee Bonis, who are also both uncapped, were called in to bolster the squad following the withdrawals.
The manager said while it was unfortunate to lose players of the calibre of Peacock-Farrell and Ballard, he is nevertheless content with his 25-strong squad ahead of tonight’s game.
Yesterday it was confirmed that Leyton Orient midfielder Ethan Galbraith has also had to return to England for treatment. He has a foot injury.
Rangers winger Ross McCausland has an injury niggle and will likely sit out the game in Hungary, although the Northern Ireland boss is confident he will be available for next week’s home game against Bulgaria.
There are a limited number of tickets still available for that UNL C3 match at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park on Tuesday (7.45pm) at irishfa.com/tickets.
WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME
The UNL C3 match between Belarus and Northern Ireland is being shown live on Viaplay’s YouTube channel (7.45pm BST).
Training at the ZTE Arena
