Northern Ieland manager Michael O'Neill looks to mix things up

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill will mix things up for the friendly clash against Israel at the National Stadium at Windsor Park on Tuesday night.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O'NeillNorthern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill
Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill

O’Neill looked on as his side dominated Saturday’s UEFA Nations League game against Bosnia and Herzegovina before going on to lose the fixture 2-1 after two defensive lapses.

And O’Neill says he may give other players a chance to prove their worth on Tuesday night.

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“We will field a strong team and give some game time to a few who didn’t start on Saturday and through that you have competition for places.

“You have the likes of Corry Evans, Paddy McNair, Will Grigg and Liam Boyce.

“These are all options we can look at for Tuesday night.”

And O’Neill is not concerned by his side’s lack of goal scoring - they created 26 total attempts on goal on Saturday - before they face Israel.

“The most important thing is that team functions and creates chances. If that wasn’t happening I would have had more concerns.

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“I am confident if we keep playing like we did on Saturday and creating chances - we will convert those chances.”

And the NI boss expects a close encounter at the national Stadium.

“I am sure it will be a tough game as they were beaten on Friday night by Albania.

“You never know what type of team they will bring in relation to who they will start. They are very much like ourselves and harbour ambitions to go to a major championship and they will probable think they have underachieved a little bit.”