"If this team can achieve this, it would be as good as anything that any Northern Ireland team has done, to go through two away games and get to a World Cup. It's a huge challenge, but we have the opportunity to write our names into the history of football here in Northern Ireland."
"We're going to have to step up. If you look at our squad, there's 13 players in the Championship, there's four at Premier League clubs and the rest are League One or playing their football elsewhere. It is a big step up for us, but it's a step up we've made in the past."
Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill acknowledges the monumental challenge ahead as his team travels to Italy for a World Cup play-off semi-final on 26 March. Victory would require winning two consecutive away matches to reach the World Cup for the first time in 40 years, placing them in Group B alongside Canada, Switzerland, and Qatar. O'Neill emphasizes this would rank among the greatest accomplishments in Northern Ireland football history. The squad faces significant obstacles, including injuries to key defenders Conor Bradley and Dan Ballard, and a notable quality gap with Italy, a four-time World Cup winner. Despite these challenges, O'Neill expresses determination to maximize their opportunity.
Read at www.bbc.com
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