Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill believes his players will face a huge challenge when they take on Switzerland tonight.
But he is confident his squad can continue to make progress when they play the Swiss in an international challenge match at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park (7.45pm).
And he believes they will also give a good account of themselves on Tuesday (25 March) when they come up against Sweden in a friendly at the Strawberry Arena in Solna on the outskirts of Stockholm.
In his Manager’s View column in the matchday programme for the game against Switzerland, he said: “A year ago we played Romania and Scotland in friendlies and I believe the results we achieved in those games kick-started a period of progress for what is still a very youthful squad.
“I am hoping tonight’s game against Switzerland in Belfast and Tuesday’s match away to Sweden in Stockholm will have a similar impact on performances and results going forward.”
O’Neill acknowledged it was great to finish 2024 by getting promoted to League B for the next edition of the UEFA Nations League.
“We put in some really good team performances as we topped League C Group 3 and there were some excellent individual performances along the way, too. Now, however, it’s time to focus on what could potentially be another exciting year,” he said.
The Northern Ireland senior men’s team manager pointed out the two friendlies this month, coupled with a further two international challenge matches in June, will help the coaching staff and the players to prepare for the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign in September.
He said: “Our opponents in those qualifiers (either Italy or Germany, Slovakia and Luxembourg) will provide much stiffer tests than we encountered in League C of the Nations League.
“And that’s why we must take on games like tonight’s friendly and the match in Stockholm. We need to give our players the opportunity to test themselves against strong opposition.
“Switzerland are a pot one team and playing against them will hopefully prepare us for either Italy or Germany.”
O’Neill expects Swiss head coach Murat Yakin to field “a strong team” tonight.
He added: “Several Switzerland players operate in La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga, so our players know they will be in for a tough game. Having said that I believe they will relish the challenge, especially when playing in front of a packed stadium in Belfast.”
Switzerland, who are currently ranked 20th in the world compared to Northern Ireland in 71st place, have tactical fluidity. They comfortably switch between a 3-4-2-1 formation and a back four in a 4-2-3-1 formation. This makes them an unpredictable and therefore dangerous opponent.
Yakin’s full-backs/wing-backs often come into central areas, where they create overloads.
This is useful to Switzerland, both in terms of denying their opponents space in the middle and also giving them a numerical advantage going forward, especially in counter-attacking situations.
Former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen these days, is not in Belfast this evening as his wife has just given birth to their third child.
Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji is missing through injury, while Yakin has surprisingly left Brest midfielder Edimilson Fernandes, Borussia Mönchengladbach defender Nico Elvedi and Napoli forward Noah Okafor out of the squad.
The Swiss squad, which also has a youthful element this time around, is nevertheless packed with players who operate in Europe’s top leagues.
In Remo Freuler, who plays for Bologna, they have a shrewd midfielder (78 caps, 11 goals), and Sevilla’s Ruben Vargas is no slouch in the engine room either (50 caps, eight goals).
Among the strikers Monaco’s Breel Embolo (73 caps, 15 goals) and Benfica’s Zeki Amdouni (25 caps, 10 goals) know how to find the net on the international stage.
Training at National Stadium
