O'Neill looking to use upcoming games to build experience as he looks to World Cup qualifiers
Michael O'Neill believes his current crop of players will lead Northern Ireland into 2026 World Cup qualification and beyond.
He said: "It has to be. People always think when you bring through a group of new players you are making a decision to replace older players. We are not really making that decision. The older players that we have are either injured or not available to us or have retired.
"This is just where we are at this moment in time with this group of players. I believe we have 10 games between now and World Cup qualification starting in March 2025 and my choice is whether I use those games to give these players more experience or would I use players who ultimately I know will not be in the international squad for a long time – they may just be in there for 18 months or two years depending on their club situation and the level of the club they play at.
"We need to build resilience into the group as well for us to do well as a nation. We need consistency and players who will play eight, nine and 10 games over a campaign.
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