Northern Ireland will take on Guinea in a friendly match in Spain on Thursday evening as attention turns to preparing for their Nations League campaign later in the year.

Here, the Press Association looks at the key talking points going into the game.

O’NEILL’S NEW DEAL

This would have been the first match in charge for a new Northern Ireland manager had O’Neill taken up the offer to manage Blackburn full-time after saving Rovers from relegation during a job-share at the end of last season. Although it reached a point where many had expected O’Neill to make the move to Ewood Park permanent, he ultimately turned down Blackburn and last week signed a new four-year deal to stay with Northern Ireland. Key to his decision was the promise shown by this young group of players, and the mission to get them to Euro 2028 starts here.

placeholder image — Jamie McDonnell attempts to move away from Callum Marshall's challenge during the Marbella training camp for Northern Ireland. (Photo by William Cherry/PressEye)

AFRICAN OPPOSITION

This will be only Northern Ireland’s fifth ever match against an African nation, and their first since a 1-1 friendly draw with Morocco at Windsor Park in 2010. Guinea are ranked 81st in the world by FIFA, 11 places behind Northern Ireland. Paulo Duarte’s Guinea side finished fourth out of six in their World Cup qualifying group, which was won by Algeria, and are now turning attention to their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign. They are without star striker Serhou Guirassy, rested after a season in which he scored 22 goals for Borussia Dortmund to attract plenty of transfer speculation this summer. Also missing is record-appearance maker Issiaga Sylla, out with an eye injury.

REGULARS MISSING

O’Neill is without some big names of his own with nine of the players called up in March missing this time around – a list that includes Paddy McNair, Dan Ballard, Eoin Toal, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, George Saville and Dion Charles – while Liverpool’s Conor Bradley remains a long-term absentee. With resources stretched, O’Neill must strike a careful balance on Thursday with one eye on Monday’s meeting with World Cup-bound France. With players out, teenagers Kieran Morrison, Braiden Graham and Ceadach O’Neill will hope for a debut, while 19-year-old defender Tom Atcheson could build on his first cap after coming off the bench against Wales in March.

STRIKING A BALANCE

O’Neill rarely likes to make sweeping changes to his side as he values giving young players their opportunity in a well-structured side. But, with so much experience missing, he must manage his resources carefully with the huge challenge of facing France in Lille to come on Monday night. “Results aren’t the most important thing at this stage with this group of players,” O’Neill said. “It’s about continuing to develop the players. But we don’t like to be beaten. We go into these games looking to give a good account of ourselves.”

SHOP WINDOW

As ever with the June internationals, plenty of players come into camp wondering about their club futures. Swansea’s Ethan Galbraith has been linked with a Premier League switch, as has Southampton’s Shea Charles and his brother Pierce following Sheffield Wednesday’s relegation. The irrepressible Josh Magennis, who turns 36 this summer, has just been released by Exeter but will hope for a chance to show he can still deliver.