Michael O'Neill has 'even greater motivation' to reach World Cup with Northern Ireland after FIFA role

While Northern Ireland missed out on World Cup qualification after a play-off semi-final defeat to Italy, O’Neill still travelled across the Atlantic to immerse himself in the showpiece event.

O’Neill has spent the tournament analysing matches, identifying tactical trends and contributing to technical observations under the leadership of FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, Arsene Wenger.

Former Stoke City chief O’Neill was joined on the panel by the likes of Jürgen Klinsmann, Gilberto Silva and Pablo Zabaleta, with one of his tasks to outline how Cape Verde exceeded expectations at the World Cup.

Having experienced world football’s most prestigious event in his analytical role, O’Neill is now determined to return one day in the dugout.

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” O’Neill told the Irish FA’s website. “It’s been a lot of work, watching games in great depth and then carrying out the analysis afterwards.

“More than anything, it has given me even greater motivation to keep developing us as a nation so that we can be at a future World Cup.

"This tournament is only going to continue to grow and improve, and we want Northern Ireland to be part of it.

“I’m looking forward to sharing everything with Aaron Hughes and the wider coaching team when I return, and looking at how we can cascade some of that learning through the age-group teams and into the women’s game as well.

“A lot of these developments are driven by resources, so we have to be realistic about what we can implement.

"But being at a tournament like this gives you a clear picture of where international football is heading, and as a nation of our size we don’t want to be left behind.

“This experience has given me the chance to see how nations of all sizes approach the game – their playing style, their set pieces and how they react when they’re winning or losing.

"Some of the smaller nations have really excelled at this tournament and exceeded a lot of people’s expectations, so from a Northern Ireland perspective there’s a lot we can learn.”

The World Cup expanded to 48 teams for the first time this summer, offering a host of countries their maiden chance to compete – Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan were amongst the debutants.

While many feared the major change would dilute the tournament’s quality, O’Neill viewed it as a real positive.

"I don’t think it has (diluted quality) at all, to be honest," he said at a Technical Study Group press conference. "I think, if anything, it’s added to it.

"It gives opportunities to smaller nations, which is extremely important for the development of football in those countries.”

Argentina and Spain are set to meet in Sunday’s final, and while O’Neill felt France, who Northern Ireland faced last month, “would come out on top”, he believes the two best teams reached the decider.

“I think it's a fascinating game, with two very different styles: Spain have been very controlled in the whole tournament, they've only conceded one goal and they've had a couple of late winners, as well,” he said. “Argentina have kind of been tested all the way along, twice having to go to extra-time to get through the knockout stages.

"(They've scored) very late goals, and goals from their substitutes coming off the bench, as well.

“We've seen the magic of (Lionel) Messi, as well, in terms of they're probably reliant on him a little bit, at key moments in the tournament…I think the two best teams are in the final.”