NI 'good enough' to compete with top teams - Charles

Shea Charles captained Northern Ireland in Stockholm

Shea Charles believes Northern Ireland have to use Tuesday's 5-1 friendly defeat in Sweden as motivation for their World Cup qualifiers.

The loss in Stockholm was just a third in Northern Ireland's past 12 matches as Alexander Isak spearheaded a wounded Sweden, who lost on Saturday in Luxembourg, to a big win.

Michael O'Neill's side will face two more friendlies, away to Denmark and at home to Iceland, before their opening World Cup qualifiers in Luxembourg and Germany.

"Definitely. It's almost like a look into the future of what we will come up against," said Charles when asked if the defeat would fuel their qualifying campaign.

"I know Germany are one of the best teams in the world but it's a game of football and anything can happen.

"I think we are good enough to compete against these sorts of teams."

'They finished their chances, we didn't'

While it may be a strange statement to say after a 5-1 defeat, Northern Ireland showed in Friday's draw against Switzerland that they can match sides who are regulars at major tournaments.

O'Neill's team have also impressed against the likes of Scotland and Romania in the past 12 months, but the game in Sweden was a harsh lesson.

Charles, who captained the side at 21, is confident it will not leave any lasting impact on a young panel who had been on an upward trajectory.

"I don't think it was a 5-1 game, which is always hard to look at when it is that score," he said.

"They finished their chances, unlike us. I feel that we had similar chances."

Northern Ireland were without three first-choice defenders in Conor Bradley, Trai Hume and Dan Ballard, while Eoin Toal also likely would have featured if fit.

"We should have been a bit more compact, but we didn't and it ended up being five," added Charles.

"That's what that's what happens when you do make mistakes against players of that quality."