Northern Ireland’s Ian Baraclough in call for strong finish to World Cup run

Baraclough’s men sit second from bottom in Group C after losses in Switzerland and Bulgaria, and will not take anything for granted against Lithuania on Friday before facing Italy three days later.

Lithuania notched their only points so far with victory over Bulgaria last month and Baraclough told the Irish FA’s official website: “We know the Lithuanians are strong, resolute and really compact.

“They had a good result at home to Bulgaria and have a new coach who is starting to implement things that he wants to get across to them, and you can see that.

“We want to finish the campaign on a high.

“We have two home games with our own fans in the stadium so we want them to go home looking forward to the UEFA Nations League and Euro qualifiers which are coming up.

“We have had some ups and downs during this World Cup campaign and, looking at it, that was to be expected.

“But we have set ourselves high standards and we need to ensure we maintain those high standards and make sure we become a team that performs for 90 minutes, and not 70 or 75 minutes.”

Baraclough revealed his only injury concern is Millwall midfielder Dan Ballard, who is battling an ongoing knee issue, but no replacements have yet been called upon.

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