Euro 2022: 'After 450-day wait, it's game on for Northern Ireland's game-changers'

Northern Ireland were in typically upbeat mood during training on Wednesday

It's a back story that few have tired of telling, or hearing.

A tale of hope. Of disbelief. Of euphoria. Of inspiration. Of hashtags. Of legacy. Of joy. And, whisper it quietly, of some controversy.

Kenny Shiels and his players have waited 450 days to fulfil this destiny. And what a destiny.

St Mary's stadium in Southampton will be the venue and Norway the opposition on Thursday night as Northern Ireland play their first-ever match at a major finals on what is day two of the 2022 Women's European Championship.

Qualification for the competition was sealed on a glorious, albeit Covid-restricted, April 2021 night in north Belfast with a historic play-off victory over Ukraine.

It's now game on for the team dubbed the game changers.

The story, now, is about Norway, Hegerberg, Hansen and co. Which means we can add symmetry to the layers of this team's tale.

Their qualification campaign for the Euros began on 30 August 2019 - when the finals were due to be last summer, of course - against, ironically, the Norwegians. And it didn't start well, with then recently-appointed manager Shiels' introducing a new possession-based style of play and insisting his players stuck to it as they fell to a 6-0 defeat.

At that stage, the notion that these sides could meet in the finals was not far off fanciful. And, yet, here they are.

Northern Ireland's travelling party flew from Belfast to Southampton on Monday. That iconic photograph of the squad - resplendent in smart new suits - boarding the aeroplane was captured and will be cherished by them all forever, no doubt.

Their governing body has done a fine job in making their training base at Stoneham Lane, home of Wessex Football League side AFC Stoneham, a welcoming space. There are reminders of the team's motto, 'A New Dream', branded everywhere while every player's image and name adorns the wall of the media facility and workspace.

Upbeat seems to be the only mode this group of players know and there were smiles all round as they got down to tournament business in their first training session in Southampton Tuesday. Two of the youngest players - Abbie Magee and Emily Wilson - were first in line to address the media, with their excitement and enthusiasm as infectious as ever.

Wednesday brought a 'will-she-won't-she?' narrative, with all media eyes on who would join manager Shiels for the matchday-minus-one press conference. Normally a duty fulfilled by the captain, initial communication from Uefa suggested it would be experienced defender Sarah McFadden alongside the boss.

The intrigue, of course, centred on the toe injury that team captain Marissa Callaghan had been carrying since May - an injury which some feared could threaten her participation in the tournament. Those fears were swiftly allayed when the Cliftonville midfielder declared, with an assuring smile, that she was "fit and ready to go" on the eve of the competition.

Shiels, a surprise appointment for many in 2019, has transformed Northern Ireland's fortunes

While her fitness was the focus, she still had time to remind people of the lovely nature of her individual story, and that of the team's.

"It is incredible what we have achieved. Some of us have been here since 2004 and back then we actually had to pay to go to tournaments, so it is great that we are getting to experience this," she reflected.

"The young players, as well, are going to take so much from this.

"I am so proud and so honoured. It is a dream come true for any little girl to lead her country out and be the captain at a major tournament. I still have to pinch myself that it is actually my title, but I absolutely love it. And it has actually helped me grow as a person."

And, what of the Northern Ireland manager?

A surprise appointment for many back in the summer of 2019, Callaghan admitted back then that she and her team-mates were immediately doing Google searches to get clued up on their new boss. Little did they know.

With son Dean by his side in the dugout, Shiels has done a heroic job, sticking steadfastly to a style of play and fashioning a team bond that must be as strong as any in a tournament in which they are the lowest-ranked side by some distance.

Rarely predictable, Shiels delivered a light-hearted quip when asked on Wednesday if he has had any 'pinch yourself' moments in the week building up to the biggest match of his managerial career. He couldn't stop himself from smiling as he identified the food in the team hotel as his highlight.

If that smile returns after full-time at St Mary's on Thursday night, then a whole new sequel to Northern Ireland's captivating story will have begun.

• NI skipper Callaghan fit for Euro 2022 opener

• Hegerberg, Norway and new chapters

• Cameras, suits and security - NI's Euros trip 'feels real'

• The night Northern Irish football changed forever