Optimism for NI despite 'mammoth' Norway task

Simone Magill captained a youthful Northern Ireland against a star-studded Norway side

After 26 minutes, it looked like it could be a very long night for Northern Ireland as Norway ran riot at Inver Park with three goals.

Norway were going into the Euro 2025 play-off as heavy favourites, and they lived up to that tag with a scintillating start to the game as Caroline Graham Hansen showcased all the qualities that mark her out as one of the best players in the world.

The introduction of Chloe McCarron at half-time helped Northern Ireland steady the ship and, despite conceding a cheap fourth goal from a corner, the hosts even pressed for a late, morale-boosting goal.

The 4-0 scoreline effectively ends Northern Ireland's dream of qualifying for back-to-back Euros, but in truth that had been expected ahead of the tie.

Norway had won the last six matches between the sides and few expected Northern Ireland to be able to cause the biggest of shocks.

For manager Tanya Oxtoby, this play-off was as much about learning as it was about competing with the one of the world's top sides.

Since the Australian has taken over as manager, there has been a changing of the guard - much quicker than some had anticipated.

Norway are the best team this youthful NI side have come up against, and captain Simone Magill says they can be "proud" of their efforts after going three goals down.

"We knew coming into this game it was going to be a mammoth task," said the Birmingham City striker.

"They've got some of the best players in the world and I think we gave a really good account of ourselves.

"Some people look at that scoreline and think otherwise, but for anyone who watched the game, we have a young squad and in the second half, I thought we applied ourselves really well."

Calmness in possession 'the next step'

After games against higher-ranked Portugal and the Republic of Ireland earlier in Oxtoby's tenure, Norway were another step up for a side who are in transition.

Along with Graham Hansen, who was a joy to watch in the first half as she glided around Inver Park like it was her own back garden, manager Gemma Grainger had the likes of Ada Hegerberg, Guro Reiten and Frida Maanum at her disposal.

It's an embarrassment of riches, and Magill says Northern Ireland will be all the better for the experience of playing a side of that quality.

"We've spoken about how we wanted to test ourselves against one of the best sides and Norway definitely are one of the top sides," she added.

"It gives that exposure to the kids and a lot of our girls were saying that they've never played a team like that before, and it's the best team they've ever played.

"I guess it shows the level and we want to get closer and closer to teams like that.

"If we want to be qualifying for major tournaments then that's the level of opposition we're going to be playing."

Magill says her players will need to "pick ourselves up" ahead of the second leg in Oslo on Tuesday.

Of course, the second-half performance will certainly help with that.

With the game in the bag, Norway undoubtedly took their foot off the gas in the closing stages, but Northern Ireland did look genuinely threatening as injury time approached.

While McCarron added defensive solidity, the introduction of teenager Keri Halliday added a spark going forward that helped put the underdogs on the front foot in the closing stages.

"I think this is the next step for us, when we actually have the ball against top sides that we need to relax a little bit more," said Magill.

"We need to trust that we have the capabilities of doing something with it and not panicking.

"Yes, it largely was an out of possession game for us but there were moments where we were trying to create little bits and pieces.

"We'll go back, review the game and try and approach Tuesday's game with a very fresh mindset."