Northern Ireland – Belarus

Belarus is capable of not losing

On Friday, 15 November, the Northern Ireland national team will play against Belarus in one of the decisive matches of the C League. The winner of the quartet will be able to qualify for the knockout rounds for the right to qualify for the World Cup in a year's time. The situation in Group 3 is very interesting: Northern Ireland are one point ahead of Belarus, but Bulgaria are also two points behind. The British are considered favourites in the group. Michael O'Neill's team played an amazing match against Bulgaria. The opponent was defeated with a score of 5:0. The game was abnormal in terms of performance. Northern Ireland did not create chances even on 2xG. At the same time, the Bulgarians scored one auto-goal and failed to convert a penalty. In terms of chances, the hosts did not have such an advantage. Northern Ireland now has a relatively promising set of players, made up mainly of performers from the English lower leagues. The main star is Liverpool's extreme defender Conor Bradley. There are no other representatives of the APL performing at a high level. In attack, there is a clear lack of players. Still, the main striker is 34-year-old Josh Maginness, assisted by 29-year-old Dion Charles. The two forwards have scored only fifteen goals in 107 games for the Northern Ireland national team. Belarusians have a very decent tournament in the current Nations League. The team made progress in the qualifying matches for the European Championship. They managed to defeat Kosovo there. In the Nations League, Belarusians haven't lost a single match, though, and the victory is only one - over Luxembourg (1:0). Carlos Ferrer's wards act in a cautious style, with a very competent defence. Belarus have conceded only one goal in four matches. The backbone of the defence are experienced age players. The Belarusians are not shy to take advantage of the numbers, coming out with five defenders and two midfielders, specialised in tackling. The attack, like Northern Ireland, is a headache. Eugene Szikawka, a 32-year-old forward from Poland's Korona, is trying out for the centre forward position, but the result so far is very sad: six matches - no goals. Dmytro Antilewski (two goals in seventeen games) is not living up to expectations. Northern Ireland are listed at 1.55 against Belarus on the back of the defeat of Bulgaria, but this is not objective. The teams recently played each other and finished 0-0. Northern Ireland had the advantage, but the odds at 8.00 on Belarus are not supported by anything. The team is easily capable of defending an away draw. Another important factor is that a peaceful outcome would suit Northern Ireland in terms of fighting for first place in the group.