SM
Sports Mole words bigger AMP 2
Leverkusen vs. Bayern: 1 hr 54 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
SM
San Marino national football team
World Cup Qualifying - Europe | Group Stage
Sep 1, 2017 at 7.45pm UK
 
NI
Northern Ireland national football team

0-3

 
FT(HT: 0-0)
Magennis (70', 75'), Davis (78' pen.)

Michael O'Neill: 'We must avoid complacency against San Marino'

:Headline: Michael O'Neill: 'We must avoid complacency against San Marino': ID:306280: from db_amp
Michael O'Neill insists that Northern Ireland have prepared for Friday's World Cup qualifier against San Marino as though they are facing world champions Germany.

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill has warned his players that they cannot afford to underestimate San Marino in Friday evening's qualifier in Serravalle.

The European minnows are ranked at 203 in the world - 180 places behind Norn Iron - and have picked up just two points from 62 previous World Cup qualifiers.

Despite his side being strongly backed to cruise to a comfortable victory on the road to Russia 2018, O'Neill has stressed that Ireland will approach the game as if they were taking on Group C leaders and reigning world champions Germany.

"We've looked at how teams have not played as smartly as they could have and maybe underestimated San Marino," he told reporters. "That's something we've hammered home to the players. The one thing you always want to avoid is complacency in this type of game and the way to do that is to point out the mistakes you've made, your potential weaknesses and to make sure on the night we play as if we're playing Germany or the Czech Republic.

"Having seen the players this week, that's what we anticipate for the type of performance we'll get. We don't envisage it will be easy for us. Whether you win 1-0 or 6-0, it's irrelevant. The key is making sure we win the game. We've had many discussions of where we are as a team in terms of how we would negotiate this group.

"It wasn't easy, particularly when Germany and the Czechs were group winners for the Euros, Norway were beaten in the play-offs and we knew Azerbaijan would present difficulties, as San Marino are capable of as well. The key was could we maintain the momentum after the Euros? And we did that very well in the opening four games.

"I felt once we negotiated the opening four games we were going to be in a good place, which we were. Then you get big results. There's no doubt that the Stuart Dallas goal in Azerbaijan was a huge result for us because Norway and the Czech Republic drew, and it gave us the four-point cushion that we have now. The way the fixtures have fallen, we're in a position to really benefit from that result."

Northern Ireland sit second in Group C and can secure a likely playoff berth with wins over San Marino and Czech Republic over the next three days.

amp_article__306280 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2017-09-14 05:53:17:
html db last update - 2017-09-14 05:53:17 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Michael O'NeillClick here for more stories about Michael O'Neill

Click here for more stories about Northern Ireland

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool24176158233557
2Arsenal25158251222953
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest24145540271347
4Chelsea25127647341343
5Manchester CityMan City24125748351341
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle24125742291341
7Bournemouth24117641281340
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2591063838037
9Aston Villa2410773437-337
10Fulham249963632436
11Brentford2494114242031
12Crystal Palace247982830-230
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd2485112834-629
14Tottenham HotspurSpurs24831348371127
15Everton246992530-527
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2476112946-1727
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2454153452-1819
18Leicester CityLeicester2545162555-3017
19Ipswich TownIpswich2437142249-2716
20Southampton2423191854-369
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .