Michael O'Neill views 'big jump' against 'benchmark' France stage for Northern Ireland rewards over results
Manager Michael O’Neill has challenged his young Northern Ireland players to embrace the “big jump” against France’s “benchmark” star-studded squad.
France will head into the summer World Cup finals as one of the favourites for glory thanks to a panel packed with world-class players.
For Northern Ireland boss O’Neill, this first international window since suffering World Cup play-off semi-final pain against Italy offers his players “the opportunity to show people”.
His 23-strong group for friendlies against Guinea in Spain’s Cadiz region on Thursday then off to Lille for France next Monday has been highlighted by O’Neill as “probably about 75% under 24” – but with a stage set only for long-term rewards over results.
"We played Georgia in the first game of the Nations League…they have one of the best players in the world at this minute in time (PSG’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia),” said O’Neill. "So you have to get exposure to it...the result is not the key thing in this type of game.
"But it's to show the players this is the benchmark.
"We're going to play a French team where basically probably every player in their squad is a Champions League player...so there's a big jump there but I think it gives our players the opportunity to show people that they can make that jump.
"I thought that when we looked at the game against Italy, who have a number of big players who are Champions League players...the performances of particularly probably Shea (Charles) and Ethan (Galbraith) in midfield, they showed that they could handle a game at that level, so these types of games give the players another opportunity to show that.”
O’Neill called the mood “already very positive” and that “there’s a real sense of optimism” as players reported to camp on Monday.
He added: “We’ve had all the players arrive into camp fit and well, which is exactly what you want ahead of an important international window...the players are looking forward to getting back on the pitch together and testing themselves in two different but valuable fixtures.
"Our focus now is on making the most of the training time we have and ensuring we’re ready to perform well in both matches.”