| PROBABLE LINE-UPS |
NORTHERN IRELAND  Camp Duff, Evans, Hughes, McAuley McGinn, Davis, Clingan, McCann Healy, Paterson | NORWAY  Jarstein Hogli, Hangeland, Demidov, Riise Braaten, Grindheim, Jenssen, Pedersen Huseklepp, Abdellaoue |
With a combination of youth and experience in his squad, Michael O’Neill’s first Northern Ireland selection has a strong look to it, despite the recent withdrawals of Craig Cathcart and Warren Feeney through injury.
With just an 18-man squad to choose from and a great deal of inexperience within that squad, Egil Olsen’s options are somewhat limited, but he will be hopeful that his four English-based players can have a great impact.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
- This game will be Michael O’Neill’s first game in charge of the national side. O’Neill earned 33 caps for Northern Ireland between 1988 and 1996, and made history as manager of Shamrock Rovers as he guided them to the group stages of the Europa League, the first League of Ireland side to reach that stage of a European competition.
- Fulham’s Aaron Hughes recently performed a U-turn on his international retirement, less than six months after his initial announcement.
- Currently ranked 86 in the Fifa rankings, Northern Ireland face Portugal, Russia, Israel, Azerbaijan and Luxembourg in their 2014 World Cup qualifying group.
- Striker David Healy (pictured right) is the leading all-time goalscorer for Northern Ireland, having scored 35 goals in 89 games since his debut in 2000. The second-highest goalscorer is Billy Gillespie, who scored 13 goals in 25 appearances between 1913 and 1932.
- Northern Ireland have lost their last four games against Norway, and last beat the Norwegians in 1975, when they won 3-0 at Windsor Park in a qualifier for the 1976 European Championships.
- In their last game, an international friendly in 2004, the Northern Irish were beaten 4-1 at Windsor Park in former manager Lawrie Sanchez’s first game in charge thanks to two goals from Morten Gamst Pedersen, one from Steffan Iversen and a Keith Gillespie own goal. David Healy’s goal in the second half ended a run of 14 games without a goal, a run of 1298 minutes.
- The Norwegians last played international football in January, as they participated in the King’s Cup in Thailand, finishing third in a group of four thanks to a draw with a Denmark League XI, a victory over the Thai hosts and a 3-0 defeat to South Korea’s Under-23s.
- Norway unluckily finished third in their qualifying group for the 2012 European Championships, finishing level on points with second-placed Portugal but being edged out of the play-offs on goal difference by the Portuguese.
- Fulham’s John Arne Riise is just five caps away from breaking the all-time appearance record for the Norwegian national side. Currently, he has exactly 100 caps, level with former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United defender Henning Berg, and is looking to break the record of 104 set by Thorborjn Svenssen between 1947 and 1962.
It promises to be a tough game for Northern Ireland, with Norway highly ranked by Fifa and only missing out on Euro 2012 on goal difference behind Portugal.
However, in their first game under new manager Michael O’Neill, the Northern Irish will be keen to put on a good showing, and should be confident of using the atmosphere of Windsor Park to their advantage, meaning that this promises to be a close encounter.
However, in their first game under new manager Michael O’Neill, the Northern Irish will be keen to put on a good showing, and should be confident of using the atmosphere of Windsor Park to their advantage, meaning that this promises to be a close encounter.
Editor's Prediction
Northern Ireland 1-1 Norway 
