Euro 2022: Kenny Shiels and Marissa Callaghan on Northern Ireland's Euro 2022 game with Austria

The performances of Nicole Billa and Marissa Callaghan are likely to be crucial as Austria and Northern Ireland seek a positive result

Ding, ding, ding. It's time for round three.

In the red corner you have Austria, a team packed with talent who fly under the radar compared to the big hitters.

Standing tall in the green corner there's Northern Ireland, the ultimate underdogs who have fought more than most to reach this stage.

It's a rarity in international football, but Monday's crucial Euro 2022 match will be the third meeting in the past eight months between the sides - and this time there could be a knockout blow.

Both teams lost their opening matches, and defeat in their second game will all but end any hopes of progression from Group A.

There is previous here, and a sense Northern Ireland owe their opponents one despite being ranked 26 places lower than the Austrians.

• 'Northern Ireland owe Austria for past heartbreak'

• Why Julie Nelson's header was so much more than just a goal

In October, Northern Ireland were denied a famous victory over Austria in added time in Belfast. The part-timers came from a goal down to lead 2-1 heading into the extra minutes before conceding at the death.

Then, in April, Austria capitalised on what was described as nine minutes of madness, pouncing on errors to net three first-half goals as the hosts ran out 3-1 winners to all but end Northern Ireland's hopes of reaching a maiden World Cup.

"There's no point in having fear going up against the top sides," said captain Marissa Callaghan.

"To get a result or get a win would be amazing. It would be massive.

"I think the other day [against Norway] a lot of nerves caused us to have a shaky start but I think most of the game we did really well.

"We have to take that into this game against Austria, go in with confidence and play our game."

'It's achievable'

Austria beat Northern Ireland 3-1 in April to all but end their World Cup qualification hopes

Northern Ireland's mantra under Kenny Shiels is to go out to try to win every match, whether that be a world-class Norway team in their Euros opener or minnows North Macedonia in qualifying. That mentality never changes.

After their historic debut in Thursday's defeat by Norway, Monday's match at St Mary's is a real opportunity to get their first points at a major tournament.

Of course, NI's task is made harder by the loss of key striker Simone Magill, and Shiels has called on his players to step up and fill the sizable void left by the Aston Villa-bound striker.

There is always belief, and although it's been proved they can match their opponents in terms of performance, Shiels warns it would "be very foolish of us to characterise Austria as a weaker team" than England or Norway.

"They most certainly are not, as you've seen against England," he said about Austria, who reached the semi-finals in 2017.

"Them, Norway, and England are very much on a par. Any one of those three could go on and win the tournament.

"We will adapt and prepare; everything we do is gauged towards getting a victory. If we don't get a victory, we want to get at least a draw, but we won't be thinking like that.

"If we go out with an attitude of 'let's try and draw this match', it's not going to be us, it's not what Northern Ireland are. We go out to try and win every match. It's achievable."

In the heat of battle, with temperatures set to be as high as 27 degrees during the match on the south coast of England, Shiels called on his players to learn from mistakes in previous encounters.

"I said to the players that making mistakes is a very big part of learning. You have to take risks to try to break through against the big teams," he added.

"Pressure comes from what you self-inflict. We always talk about composure and relaxation - not too much. The more we prepare in that frame of mind, the more dominant the girls will become. They understand that by becoming more relaxed they can play better.

"What I do know is that if people are asking us to change the way we play then we'd be stopping the development of players. We need to develop players in this environment; the more we do that, the better they'll become. We have to keep doing that."

• 'I felt so alone and lost.': Michael Sheen lifts the lid on the shocking state of the care system

• What has life as a Rolling Stone been like?: The epitome of a rock guitarist, Keith Richards, reveals it all