Northern Ireland Under-21 manager Tommy Wright says his side are determined to finish their qualifying campaign strongly when they face Georgia at home tonight.
The Under-21s have collected 13 points from their campaign so far and currently sit third in the group, four points ahead of Georgia. A point tonight would guarantee Northern Ireland finish in third place.
“We’ve been really pleased with what we’ve produced throughout this group and we want to finish the campaign strongly,” said Wright.
“We have 13 points and it’s really important that we try to hold on to third place to help with our seeding. Historically, it’s the second-highest points tally for an Under-21 campaign, which is something the players can be really proud of.
“It shows that we’re not only developing players, but we’re also securing results and points on the pitch, which is really important.”
Wright believes the age profile of his squad is another encouraging aspect of the campaign, with an opportunity to give more players valuable game time across the final two fixtures.
“Compared to some other countries, our squad is still quite young,” he said. “We have two games left and it’s important that we give as many players from the wider squad minutes as possible.
“It’s been a long camp, so we’ll look to spread the minutes across these final two games.”
Georgia will provide a tough test, but Wright is confident Northern Ireland can once again produce a strong performance against a side they defeated away from home earlier in the campaign.
“The game against Georgia will be tough. They were seeded above us and we find ourselves four points ahead of them, so a point guarantees that we finish third.
“We had an outstanding result against them when we played away from home, but tomorrow we’ll be looking to get on the front foot and press more than we were able to do in that game.
“They’re a strong team, but we’ve shown consistently throughout this campaign that, on our night, we can match anyone.”
Wright also highlighted the growing link between the Under-21s and the senior men’s team, with Michael Forbes, Tom Atcheson and Patrick Kelly having all recently stepped up into Michael O’Neill’s Nations League squad.
“I think we can reflect at this point and say it has been a strong campaign,” he said.
“When you look at how this team is linking up with the senior men’s team, it’s great to see the likes of Michael, Tom and Patrick making the step up into Michael O’Neill’s Nations League squad.
“That’s what the Under-21s is there for – to give players an opportunity to develop and progress into the senior side.
“There are at least nine players in the senior squad who could have played for this Under-21 team, so that shows the strength of the pathway.
“It’s really pleasing to see how we’re developing players, and that can only benefit Northern Ireland.”
