Tuesday 15 Oct 2024

O’Neill preparing for ‘another tough game’ against Bulgaria

Michael O’Neill is expecting more of the same from the opposition when Northern Ireland take on Bulgaria tonight.

Bulgaria were physical and aggressive when the teams met in Plovdiv last month and Northern Ireland’s senior men’s team manager believes the Bulgarians will play in a similar vein when they meet again in Belfast (7.45 kick-off).

However, he is also expecting his players to have more of the ball at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park than they did at the Stadion Hristo Botev.

Bulgaria won last month’s UEFA Nations League Group C3 encounter by a goal to nil.

And they go in to tonight’s game leading the way in the group, alongside Belarus, with five points from three games.

Northern Ireland are just a point behind with four points and O’Neill admitted the objective for his team is to secure all three points so they can leapfrog the Bulgarians in the table ahead of the last two games in the group next month.

That may or may not take Northern Ireland to the top of the group. That would depend on the result in the Belarus-Luxembourg UNL C3 game at the ZTE Arena in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary, tonight.

In the matchday programme for the game in Belfast, the manager points out: “People will, of course, look at results, but I tend to delve a bit deeper than that.

“The most important thing for me is that we keep progressing as a team and I believe we are doing that.

“Bulgaria were aggressive and physical in Plovdiv last month and I expect more of the same from them in tonight’s game. Unlike Belarus, who are very much focused on the team collective, the Bulgarians have individuals who can hurt you, and we will have to keep an eye on them.”

He also told media yesterday that he expects “another tough game” against the Bulgarians who have “a lot of physicality, a lot of power”. 

In the programme he reflects on Northern Ireland’s 0-0 draw against Belarus in Hungary at the weekend.

O’Neill says he was pleased with the performance at the ZTE Arena and that there were plenty of positives to take from the game in which Northern Ireland had the bulk of the chances and plenty of possession.

He also insists: “I believe if we play as we did in the first half in Hungary then we will get the desired result tonight.”

Ilian Iliev’s Bulgaria side typically line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Wide players such as Martin Minchev and Kiril Despodov look to join their attacking moves and their formation appears more like a 4-3-3 when they are advancing up the field. They play with a relatively high defensive line and look to defend from the front.

Their pressing approach was demonstrated against Northern Ireland in Plovdiv when Aleksandar Kolev swiftly closed down Daniel Ballard as he looked to receive a pass from Bailey Peacock-Farrell. Kolev subsequently won possession and squared the ball toDespodov to score what turned out to be the winning goal.

Bulgaria are well organised defensively and have kept five clean sheets in their last seven matches, including in a 0-0 draw with Luxembourg on Saturday.

In terms of an attacking threat, Bulgaria’s star man is captain Despodov. Voted Bulgarian Footballer of the Year in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023, the winger is a fine technician who is comfortable running with the ball at his feet, crossing and also making late runs into the opposition penalty area to score.

Despodov, who plays his club football with PAOK in Greece, is a set-piece specialist who takes Bulgaria’s corners and free-kicks within goal range.