Northern Ireland will be facing “a great challenge” when they come up against Iceland in the first leg of a UEFA Women’s Nations League play-off tonight.
That’s the view of senior women’s team manager Tanya Oxtoby ahead of the clash at Ballymena Showgrounds (7 o’clock kick-off).
“It’s a great challenge for us to take on Iceland, however we are embracing that challenge,” she insists.
Northern Ireland, who were last in action back in June in Nations League Group B1, are set to battle it out with Iceland over two legs for a place in League A in the next edition of the competition.
The first game is being staged in Ballymena tonight, with the return leg at Laugardalsvöllur Stadium in Reykjavik on Tuesday (28 October).
Iceland, who are ranked 17th in the world compared to Northern Ireland in 44th, played at UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 back in the summer. They lost all three of their group games, however they were all narrow defeats.
Oxtoby has named two newcomers in her 24-strong panel for the two matches against them, striker Leyla McFarland and midfielder Mia Moore. And she has also welcomed back experienced defender Sarah McFadden.
However, she is without a handful of squad regulars due to injury, including captain and striker Simone Magill, defender Laura Rafferty, midfielder Brenna McPartlan, defender Ellie Mason and midfielder Connie Scofield.
In her Manager’s View column in the matchday programme, the Northern Ireland manager further says: “We’ve got a young group of players, and some new players in for this window, but we have nothing to lose.
“The players will get to challenge themselves against a really good side who have just been to the Euros.
“I am really excited to see how we perform against them, both in the areas that we are strong in and the areas we need to develop in.”
Iceland are in the play-off after finishing third in their League A group earlier this year, while Northern Ireland grabbed a play-off spot after finishing second in League B Group 1 at the start of the summer.
Oxtoby also says: “It’s going to be a massive test for us, especially given the fact that a handful of experienced players are not available for these matches.
“However, I would urge the younger players in the squad to embrace it and to challenge themselves across the two games.
“Training and preparation for tonight’s match in Ballymena has been good, and the players are feeling good ahead of the game. Everyone is in good spirits. We know and have prepared for the challenges Iceland pose. We have worked hard to ensure we are as well equipped as we can be.”
The players in the Icelandic squad ply their trade across Europe and beyond.
They include 30-year-old Bayern Munich defender Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir (140 caps, 12 goals), Inter Milan midfielder Karólína Vilhjálmsdóttir (aged 24, 57 caps and 15 goals) and Leicester City striker Hlín Eiríksdóttir. The 25-year-old has 52 caps for her country and has netted seven goals.
Also among the forwards is Sveindís Jónsdóttir (24), who plays for Angel City FC in the USA. She has netted 15 goals in earning 54 caps.
Another experienced operator is SC Freiburg defender Ingibjörg Sigurdardóttir. The 28-year-old has made 78 appearances for her country, scoring twice.
And 25-year-old midfielder Alexandra Jóhannsdóttir, who plays her club football with Kristianstads DFF in Sweden, drives the team on. Capped 58 times to date, she has notched six goals for Iceland.
Viggósdóttir, Eiríksdóttir and Jónsdóttir were all on the scoresheet in a 4-3 defeat to Norway at Women’s Euro 2025. Iceland did not score in their other two group games at the tournament, a 1-0 loss against Finland and a 2-0 defeat against hosts Switzerland.
Tickets for the game in Ballymena are still available at irishfa.com/tickets.
