Michael O'Neill tells Northern Ireland to write own history ahead of Ukraine Nations League clash
O'Neill wants focus on future not Euro 2016 memories
Whenever Northern Ireland face Ukraine it is inevitable that memories of Euro 2016 come back. The hailstones that halted the game, the Gareth McAuley header, Niall McGinn wheeling away in pure elation and the endless renditions of ‘Will Grigg’s on fire’.
Ten years on from the famous day in France, Michael O'Neill, who was in the dugout that day in Lyon, insists it is not time for reflection.
“We don’t keep reflecting back on that game and telling the players this is what we aspire to be,” he told BBC Sport NI in Trnava. “This team hopefully can write its own history and we have to allow them to do that.”
A new generation
The game is being hosted in Slovakia due to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Of the squad in Slovakia, only two players from the Euros squad remain. Josh Magennis and Paddy McNair — himself only 31 — are the elder statesmen of a young group, while former Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis is now a key member of O'Neill’s coaching team.
Current squad members Ceadach O'Neill and Braiden Graham were only eight-years-old in 2016. Even players with 25-plus caps like Trai Hume, Shea Charles, Isaac Price and Brodie Spencer were still a few years away from taking their GCSEs at that point.
The average age of the starting team in Georgia was just 23, while that dropped to just 22.5 against Hungary.
“We may use certain examples of players from those games at Euro 2016 — the likes of Steven Davis, Jonny Evans, Gareth McAuley or Stuart Dallas — as good examples for players to aspire to be. But for me, this team is about the future and what lies ahead,” O'Neill added.
Nations League momentum
The ultimate aim for O'Neill is to lead his young squad to a first major tournament since 2016 when the next Euros roll around in 2028.
Their return to the second tier in the Nations League has been successful so far, with Shea Charles scoring a 99th-minute winner in Georgia before the team showed character with a goalless draw at home to Hungary.
The players looked tired in the closing stages of the draw, which can be put down to the 5,000-mile return trip to Tbilisi, but they held their own against Dominik Szoboszlai’s side. Before that, Northern Ireland had kept Paris Saint-Germain winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia quiet in the opener.
Ukraine threat
While Ukraine do not have the individual star power of the other teams in League B2, O'Neill knows they are still a dangerous side. He described them as favourites on Friday night, pointing to manager Andrea Maldera having made 10 changes between their opening 1-0 win in Hungary and the goalless draw with Georgia.
“Ukraine’s strength is in their collective as a team, rather than what we faced against Georgia with Kvaratskhelia and Hungary with Szoboszlai, who are top European players,” O'Neill said.
“I think that Ukraine have many players that have potential to be on that level and go to the big, big clubs in Europe. We haven’t highlighted any one individual, but we’ve looked very closely at how they play, with the ball and without the ball, and I believe their strength is in the collective of the team.”
Ukraine v Northern Ireland, Uefa Nations League, Friday 2 October at 19:45 BST. Watch on BBC iPlayer and listen on BBC Sounds; clips, updates and reaction on BBC Sport app and website.