Northern Ireland absences 'hurt' - Peacock-Farrell

Bailey Peacock-Farrell made his Northern Ireland debut against Panama in May 2018

Northern Ireland goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell says he has been thinking about winning his 50th cap "for about a year".

The 28-year-old stopper made his first appearance for the side since September 2024 in the 3-1 win away to Luxembourg with his successor as Northern Ireland's number one Pierce Charles absent through injury.

The former Leeds United and Burnley man, now on loan at Blackpool from Birmingham City, will bring up his half century of caps if selected again against Germany in Cologne on Sunday.

"It was the first thing that was on my mind when I got the call up for this camp and I've been thinking about it for a year now," he said of becoming the 45th man to hit the mark for the country.

"To make a 50th, it's a great achievement and something I was looking at all last year and now hopefully it'll come and to play against Germany while doing it.

"That doesn't get much better."

With Sheffield Wednesday's Charles installed as manager Michael O'Neill's first choice in October 2024, Plymouth Argyle's Conor Hazard became the primary back-up before injuring his knee in June's friendly loss to Denmark.

Peacock-Farrell was not included in the wider squad for that window, nor the March friendlies that preceded it, but injuries to both opened the door for a recall.

While acknowledging it was "not nice being away from the squad" over the past year, he stayed in contact with manager Michael O'Neill throughout the absence.

And after struggling for minutes at Birmingham last season, he is now feeling the benefit of regular football again, even if it has been a difficult start to the season at Blackpool with Steve Bruce's side 20th in League One after six games.

"I had a real awkward, annoying shoulder issue that I picked up in September, October time [last year] and that just stayed with me all through the season. I ended up having a couple of injections and I only just got better around the end of May, start of June," he said.

"It was just a case of staying in touch [with O'Neill]. He told me his plans and it was a good opportunity to rest.

"Obviously, I've been in the squad since I was 20, maybe every single one. To miss a few hurt a little bit, but it was necessary to get the body back to what it needs to be because I've gone seasons and seasons with maybe a couple weeks off and it catches up to you after a while."

Peacock-Farrell has played seven times for Blackpool this season

'A good headache for Michael'

Charles is missing this double-header with a shoulder injury sustained in action for Shefield Wednesday last month and is a doubt for the remainder of the campaign with further international windows in October and November.

Peacock-Farrell saw Charles' quality when he was on loan at Hillsborough during the 2021-22 season and believes the emergence of the 20-year-old has ensured Northern Ireland's greatest depth at the position across his seven years on the international scene.

"I knew Pierce's quality when I was at Wednesday. He was 16 at the time and he was training above the 18s in the 21s and he was with us.

"I just knew his quality then and I'm not surprised he's showing it now.

"I think this is probably the most competition we've had collectively where we're all playing and playing well. It's a great opportunity and a good headache for Michael as well."

Peacock-Farrell's return between the posts on Thursday was a largely quiet one. He made a smart save from a Mathias Olesen header but could do nothing about Aiman Dardari's curled effort after half an hour.

It promises to be a different matter against in Cologne with Germany having 14 shots at goal even in defeat during Thursday's 2-0 reverse in Slovakia.

"[It's] on you to stay focused and that's what I do regardless if I'm playing a pre-season friendly or Germany," Peacock-Farrell said.

"I assume I'll be busy, but let's not take away from the fact that the lads in front of me are top and they defend well, the shape's good. I have every faith in my team as well."