Northern Ireland’s Steven Davis is focused on Belarus threat before EURO 2020 qualifier

Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis insists he is totally focused on Belarus and is not thinking about the glamour games against Germany and the Netherlands.
Northern Ireland's Steven Davis scores a penalty against EstoniaNorthern Ireland's Steven Davis scores a penalty against Estonia
Northern Ireland's Steven Davis scores a penalty against Estonia

Davis and his NI team tackle Belarus on Sunday night at the National Stadium at Windsor Park after a 2-0 win against Estonia in their opening Euro 2020 qualifying match.

Two away games against Estonia and Belarus follow Sundays clash before they take on the might of Germany and Holland.

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But Davis stresses the importance of taking care of business against the so-called weaker teams in the group before facing the big guns.

“Everyone expects Holland and Germany to qualify from the group but you never know what will happen,” he said.

“We need to take care of each game as it comes along. Sunday is an important one for us. We have to build on the performance against Estonia and hopefully get off to a good start and win the game, which would put us in a good position in the group.

“If we manage to start off the group with six points that will give us a real incentive for the games in June, which tend to be difficult for us - especially away from home. We need to recover from the win against Estonia and get the three points against Belarus.”

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And Davis says he enjoyed the game against Estonia and the role he had to play for manager O’Neill.

“I felt okay. I wanted to drop a little deeper and get on it but I know what is needed from that role and I have to let Jonny Evans and Craig Cathcart build up a little bit from the back."

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