Date: 13th November 2015 at 12:33pm
Written by:

Northern Ireland welcome Latvia to Windsor Park tonight in search of their first taste of victory in an international friendly in over seven years.

The Green and White Army; who qualified for their first-ever European Championships next summer in France only last month, may boast an impressive seven match unbeaten run, but they haven’t won a non-competitive fixture since defeating Georgia 4-1 back in March 2008.

8th October 2015 - European Championship Qualifying (Group F) - Northern Ireland v Greece - Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill is thrown into the air by the players as his side celebrate victory and qualification - Photo: Simon Stacpoole / Offside.

Manager Michael O’Neill, who led Northern Ireland to the top of Group F in their respective Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, revealed he is set to experiment with his system and tactics against Latvia, but stressed the importance of continually winning games until next year’s finals.

“We do not have too many games between now and the finals next June so we have to think about our preparation and maximise what we get out of them,” said O’Neill.

“We want to keep the momentum we have built up and also use this game as an opportunity to get something out of it for the whole squad in terms of game-time.

“It’s about getting that balance right.”

Northern Ireland’s opponents Latvia, who have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals, failed to qualify for their first European Championships since 2004 after finishing rock bottom of Group A with no wins in ten games.

The last time these two nations came head-to-head was back in September 2007; where the minnows pulled off a shock 1-0 win in Group F of qualifying for Euro 2008, with Chris Baird’s own goal in the 56th minute proving to be the only goal of the games inside the Pedro Proenca Stadium.

However; the Green and White Army did win the only other encounter against Latvia, who only came into being as a football nation before attempting to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, with all-time leading goalscorer David Healy netting the winner in Northern Ireland’s earlier 1-0 Group F victory.

13/11/1985 World Cup 1986 Qualifier England v Northern Ireland Northern Ireland manager Billy Bingham celebrates with his pipe after the 0-0 draw Photo: Offside / Mark Leech

The Green and White Army are on their best run of form since Billy Bingham oversaw a nine game unbeaten stretch between 1985 and 1986.

Following on from last month’s Euro 2016 qualifiying heroics against Greece and Finland; where Northern Ireland qualified for their first major tournament in 30 years, O’Neill’s side are now currently unbeaten in seven matches, the country’s best run of form since Billy Bingham’s reign of a nine-game sequence leading into the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico.

Team News:

Despite featuring in West Brom’s defeat to Manchester United last weekend; left-back Chris Brunt has been ruled out of tonight’s game with an ongoing groin problem, meaning Milton Keynes Dons full-back Lee Hodson is set to deputise in defence.

Meanwhile United centre-half Padd McNair has joined up with the rest of the Northern Ireland squad to train, but he will play no part against Latvia tonight as he continues his recovery from an abdominal injury.

8th Octoce - Josh Magennis of Northern Irelandole / Offside.

Roy Carroll (Right), celebrating here with striker Josh Magennis (Left) after their 3-1 victory over Greece, could earn his 42nd Northern Ireland cap tonight.

And at the very back; Notts County goalkeeper Roy Carroll is fighting for the number one jersey with Hamilton Academical shot stopper Michael McGovern, despite the 38-year-old suffering a shock FA Cup first round exit with the Magpies to Salford City only last Friday.

On the opposing side; all eyes will be on Miedź Legnica striker Valerijs Sabala to try and spearhead Latvia’s first win since September 2014 after the 21-year-old netted three of his country’s six Euro 2016 qualifying goals.

Last Meeting: Latvia 1-0 Northern Ireland (Friendly – September 8, 2007)
Key Men: Northern Ireland – Kyle Lafferty; Latvia – Valerijs Sabala
Form: Northern Ireland – DDWDWD; Latvia – DLDLDL
Shoot Says: Northern Ireland 2-0 Latvia

 
Brought to you by Shoot!

One response to “Preview & Prediction: Northern Ireland vs Latvia”

  1. look here says:

    I simply want to tell you that I am all new to blogs and seriously savored your page. Probably I’m likely to bookmark your blog . You actually come with outstanding posts. With thanks for sharing your website page.