Northern Ireland: ‘Romania and Scotland the bar we have to get to for qualification’

Romania, unbeaten in 11, only conceded five goals in 10 Euro 2024 qualifying matches and Scotland, in a group with Spain and Norway, conceded eight in eight. Both will be a proper test of the attacking credentials of Northern Ireland.

“Away from home they are going to be difficult games,” O’Neill added.

“Romania hit a purple patch in the campaign, they had a poor Nations League prior to that.

“The games will be a great challenge, but it is part of the development of the team so we will make sure that we will give a good account of ourselves.”

Romania and Scotland, plus unannounced friendlies post-season, will be all for O’Neill to experiment before the Nations League begins in September, followed by World Cup qualifying next March.

These two fixtures won’t be Northern Ireland’s biggest games of 2024, but they will give a taste of what is to come.