Northern Ireland v Italy women: Friendly a big test for NI - Kenny Shiels

Seaview is expected to be sold out for the game with Italy

Northern Ireland manager Kenny Shiels believes Tuesday's friendly with Italy will be a "big challenge" for his side.

Like Northern Ireland, Italy featured at the Euro 2022 finals in July but the Italians qualified for the World Cup next summer while Shiels' side had to settle for third in their group.

The friendly in Belfast is NI's first home match since the Euro 2022 finals.

"We are better playing against teams who are superior to us so we can learn from them," said Shiels.

Italy are ranked 14th in the world, compared to Northern Ireland in 49th place, and qualified for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand by topping their qualifying group.

• Fi Morgan handed NI call-up for friendly

The majority of Shiels' side play their football domestically in Northern Ireland and returned to a part-time set-up following the conclusion of the Euro 2022 competition.

The 66-year-old added that Italy are "a massive nation" and the game at Seaview will be "high octane".

"I don't like playing teams we are better than in friendlies because it doesn't condition them in any shape or form," he added.

"We have nine Cliftonville players, they have nine Juventus players. Add another four from Roma and six from the two Milan clubs.

"When you have Irish League players playing against the best in Europe, it's always going to be difficult.

"But the conditioning that goes on and how we try to match them, if we can get two or three successes around the game then that will help the players and they can learn so much from it."

Tuesday's friendly will be Northern Ireland's first home match since April

The match will take place at Seaview rather than the National Stadium at Windsor Park. Shiels says the decision was out of his hands but the tight nature of the north Belfast stadium can help his team.

"I'm starting to change our style of play a little bit where it will make us a bit more open. We need to open up a bit more and take more of the pitch," he added.

"You will see that at Seaview and hopefully we will get more opportunities in the top half of the pitch.

"I hope it brings momentum of some sort. I will be saying to the girls that the results and who scores the most goals are not paramount to our progress.

"What's paramount to our progress is learning something from this game, bringing it into the spring and looking at ways we can move up.

"If we do get close to them and get a good result, it will give the girls great heart and motivation."

Shiels 'focused on women's job'

Shiels' contract expires prior to the next qualifying campaign in the autumn but he says it is not a priority given the Irish FA is looking for a replacement for Ian Baraclough, who left his job as the men's manager in October.

"I haven't pursued it and neither have the association. It's not a priority because their priority is to get a new manager on board for the men's team, so there is a lot of prioritising in football," he added.

"We are at a stage now where I am totally focused on the women's game."

Shiels was invited for an interview after Michael O'Neill left his post - the job Baraclough was eventually awarded - but says he does not know what is happening as the IFA searches for Baraclough's replacement.

"I've been asked that quite a few times [if he would like the men's job]. I was invited last year and I don't know exactly what is happening.

"I'm putting everything I have into the women's game and I will continue to do that until I am told any different.

"I will do my best to help the women get to a level, I was going to say where they haven't been before but we have already done that. We need to look up to a new level and have a better style of play, and I really want to push that."