Rafferty wants Northern Ireland to be 'brave and aggressive'

Laura RaffertyImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Rafferty has won 52 caps for Northern Ireland

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Euro 2025 play-off final, second leg: Norway v Northern Ireland

Venue: Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Date: Tuesday, 3 December Kick-off: 17:00 GMT

Coverage: Live on the BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app, plus live text commentary

Northern Ireland defender Laura Rafferty says that her side needs to be "brave and aggressive" in the second leg of their Euro 2025 play-off against Norway on Tuesday.

Tanya Oxtoby's side trail 4-0 from the first leg after a ruthless Norway display at Inver Park that all but ended their hopes of reaching back-to-back European Championships.

But Rafferty wants Northern Ireland to produce a performance to be proud of in the second leg in Oslo with the pressure all on their hosts in a game that will broadcast live on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website.

"We want to give a good account of ourselves, we want to be competing against the top teams and we don't want there to be that difference that people are used to seeing," she told BBC Sport NI.

"The more aggressive and brave we are going into tomorrow night the better and having nothing to fear, that will be a positive stance for us."

'Belief and mindset are everything'

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Rafferty's side were 3-0 down after 26 minutes in the first leg in Larne

The Rangers defender hopes that Northern Ireland can build on a positive second half display against Norway in Larne, where they restricted Gemma Grainger's side to just one goal in the second 45.

She points to Northern Ireland's narrow 2-1 home loss against Portugal just days after a 4-0 defeat by the same side as evidence that they can learn quickly from mistakes.

"It's a quick turnaround so we need to learn and adapt quickly which we have done before against Portugal," Rafferty added.

"It is a test but something we are looking forward to. A lot of Friday was preventable but hopefully with the tweaks we make we can be more aggressive in the way we approach the game."

Rafferty knows that Northern Ireland will require maximum concentration levels to avoid a similar start to the game in Larne where they were 3-0 down after 26 minutes.

"When you're playing against world class teams one slip of concentration is all it takes so for us it is about being there for each other through every battle," she continued.

"It is incredible to play against these Norway players, we have earned the right to be here and to really challenge ourselves and the belief and mindset are everything."