Oxtoby hopes to build on 'momentum and positivity'

Tanya Oxtoby's side will face Croatia over two legs in late October

Northern Ireland manager Tanya Oxtoby says she hopes her side can build on the "momentum and positivity" within the squad as preparations begin for a two-legged Euro 2025 play-off first-round tie against Croatia this autumn.

Oxtoby's team will be away for the first leg on 23 October, with the return leg at home a week later.

Northern Ireland were seeded in a hat of League B Nations after finishing second in their qualifying group behind Portugal, with three wins and a draw from their six fixtures.

They finished their campaign strongly with wins away to Malta and against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Belfast.

"Really pleased. Logistically it’s a good one for us. We were pretty confident no matter who we drew from our point of view given the momentum we have got at the moment," said the NI boss.

"Everyone is really positive. We need to continue to execute what we do and challenge ourselves so the group’s ready for this and we continue to grow."

The winners of the tie will face Norway or Albania in the second round of the play-offs.

'Rankings don't come into it'

Oxtoby told BBC Sport NI that her preparations for the encounters with Croatia would include speaking with her Wales counterpart Rhian Wilkinson, after the Welsh finished top of the qualifying group which included the Croatians.

"I’ll be in touch [with the Wales head coach] for some tips, but we’re getting to work right now in terms of what we need to know," explained the Australian former Chelsea assistant coach.

"We have a pretty stringent process we go through in terms of our opposition analysis so the guys will be working away to make sure we’ve got all the information we need to give ourselves every opportunity we need to be successful.

"Playing away from home first is always a challenge so we’ll try and get ourselves based where we can get some good work in beforehand and focus on us and be ready for the game."

Oxtoby's team sit 48th in the Fifa rankings, eight places above Croatia, while 16th-ranked Norway will be favourites to overcome Albania and stand in the way of Northern Ireland potentially reaching a second European Championship should they advance at the expense of the Croatians.

"The pressure of a play-off and all that comes with it, I don’t think rankings really come into it," said Oxtoby.

"It’s about making sure you can execute on the day across the two ties so that’s what we need to be focused on, and ourselves more importantly, continuing our journey.

“We’ll focus on this first round and then concentrate on the next round if we get there."

The round two play-offs will be played on 27 November and 3 December.

'A team in transition'

Oxtoby, who was appointed NI manager in September 2023, believes her squad is making progress despite "being a team in transition and continuing to grow".

"It’s difficult to get results while you are trying to do that but this group has done that, and the performances have been getting better and better," she said.

“I think the group believes and the last two windows have shown that.

"So for us, we are super focused on this next stage. Getting to the Euros is what everybody wants and it would mean the world to everybody.”