St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson has bracketed Steven Davis alongside George Best in the pantheon of Northern Ireland greats following the midfielder’s retirement on Thursday.

Davis is most closely associated with Rangers where in two spells at the Ibrox club he won four titles, as well as lifting both the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup on three occasions.

The 39-year-old played 140 times for Northern Ireland – the UK male international caps record –  while former Manchester United and Northern Ireland winger Best is generally accepted to be one of the best players ever to have played the game.

Robinson, capped seven times for Northern Ireland where he played alongside Davis and who was assistant to Michael O’Neill at Euro 2016, said of his former team-mate: “He’s, if not the best, then he’s right up there.

“He should be mentioned in the same bracket as George Best. In terms of his longevity and what he has contributed to Northern Irish football.

“Obviously two completely different players, two completely different positions but in terms of recognition I think he will be recognised in that bracket as one of the greatest players ever to play for Northern Ireland.

“He is such a talented boy and what he has done for Northern Irish football.

“He went to the Euros, he was a great captain for Michael O’Neill throughout his time and provided so much for the young players coming through and he has been an inspiration and for someone I have worked with – he is arguably the best player I worked with on the training pitch.

“Never caused a minute’s problem, easy maintenance, easy to manage but a super, super talented boy.”

Scotland will meet the Netherlands and Northern Ireland in March friendlies next year as they step up preparations for Euro 2024.

Steve Clarke’s side will visit the Dutch on Friday, March 22, with the venue to be confirmed by the hosts in the near future.

Hampden will then host its first men’s international of the year when Northern Ireland visit on Tuesday, March 26, Scotland announced on Monday.

The Scots are in the process of arranging further friendlies in early June ahead of the showpiece tournament that gets under way in Germany later that month.

Scotland last faced the Dutch in June 2021 when they drew 2-2 in a friendly prior to the last European Championship, while their last meeting with Northern Ireland was a friendly at Hampden in 2015 when Christophe Berra secured a 1-0 win.

Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley will keep focusing on his daily routines for self-improvement rather than be derailed by thoughts of Euro 2024 after making his Denmark debut in midweek.

The 23-year-old won his first cap in Monday’s 2-0 defeat against Northern Ireland at Windsor Park.

Kasper Hjulmand’s side had already won their group before the Belfast trip and O’Riley will keep trying to impress for Celtic with his international hopes firmly in the back of his mind.

“The first cap is obviously a good moment, albeit it wasn’t our best performance, but at the same time you are still playing for your country,” he said.

“It was a proud moment for me and my family also. My family were there, my mum and dad, girlfriend and agent/friend.

“It’s obviously a new experience, new team-mates, new players, that’s always challenging because it’s a new environment, new people, so it takes a bit of time to adapt naturally but I found it relatively easy just because they are really nice people.

“The first few days you are a little bit nervous, just getting into it, but after that you are fine.

“It’s not something I gave too much thought to, you are still just playing football at the end of the day. If I am playing with good players and playing under a good manager, it shouldn’t really be a problem to play well.

“And yeah, of course I was disappointed with the result and I was hard on myself after the game because you naturally are when you lose but I received some nice feedback regardless.

“I am obviously in the mix now so it’s about trying to keep improving.”

On the prospect of playing in Germany next summer, the former MK Dons midfielder said: “It was always a target anyway. It’s something I try not to think about too much on a regular basis, it’s more a case of daily processes here, boring day-to-day stuff, that usually helps get you to where you want to get to.

“It’s four or five months to the next camp so there is a lot of football to be played for your club before then and a lot of things can happen in terms of performances, so I will try my best.

“That’s what got me there in the first place and I will try to keep improving as a player.

“I feel good, feel strong physically and mentally, which is progress. I feel like I have improved a lot this season on various aspects.”

One of those aspects is goalscoring – O’Riley has six goals to his name ahead of Saturday’s visit of Motherwell, more than his total from last term.

When asked what had contributed to his figures, the former Fulham trainee said: “A clearer mind first and foremost, I am more open when I am on the pitch.

“Secondly just getting into the right positions to score and then taking a little bit of pressure off myself, not expecting myself to score every game, just going into trying to do my best for the team and naturally you get your outcomes.

“You have to go through experiences. I had to go through the phase where I didn’t score for a long time to know maybe then how to take pressure off myself the next time.

“For me the big thing that has helped the most is just being in the best frame of mind. That’s something I give a lot of attention to on a daily basis.

“I meditate a lot, I speak regularly with my friend/life coach who lives in India. I work a lot with him in terms of speaking about things that were maybe kept inside me for a long time.

“I might not have had the knowledge to understand how to speak about it.

“That has helped me loads, I feel more confident and open to speak to people in general.”

Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott lit up Goodison Park as England Under-21s eased past Northern Ireland.

The midfielder’s classy brace inspired the Young Lions to a comfortable 3-0 win on Tuesday.

He now has five goals in Euro 2025 qualifying while Reds team-mate Tyler Morton, on loan at Hull, opened the scoring with his first for the Under-21s.

It leaves them second Group F, three points behind Ukraine who beat Azerbaijan 1-0.

In what looks increasingly likely to be a straight shootout for the group win, the pair play each other in the penultimate game in October, and the Young Lions are in the rare position of playing catch-up.

It is clearly a chase they can achieve and, while boss Lee Carsley will say otherwise, the last game with his youngsters until March was a stroll after they dominated from the off, the gulf in class obvious.

Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite, captain on home turf, was the first to waste a decent opening when he failed to connect with Tino Livramento’s knock-back as England struggled to find an early way past the robust Northern Ireland backline, marshalled by Ruairi McConville and Michael Forbes.

Noni Madueke curled wide after 20 minutes and Jay Stansfield miscued a half-volley from Hayden Hackney’s cross but they were half-chances, rather than the Young Lions slicing through their opponents.

They continued to dominate and press, James Trafford a spectator in goal, and Elliott shot wide but the killer touch continued to elude the hosts – until Northern Ireland finally wilted under the pressure after 31 minutes.

That it came from a misplaced cross mattered little as Madueke’s centre evaded Stansfield but was only cleared to Morton on the edge of the area and the midfielder drilled low into the corner.

From there, an England victory was rarely in doubt. Without Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis, elevated to the senior squad last week, they were perhaps missing a zip centrally but Madueke and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens offered enough on the flanks.

Indeed, Chelsea’s Madueke teed up Hackney to shoot over before Elliott doubled the lead after 50 minutes.

The Liverpool man was clattered by Terry Devlin 25 yards out before exacting perfect revenge by bending a free-kick into the bottom corner.

Madueke was denied by Josh Clarke as England hunted a third and it was Elliott who found it with 10 minutes left. The 20-year-old ran onto Morton’s pass, exposing a gaping hole in the Northern Ireland midfield, and produced a fine chip to lob the onrushing Clarke.

There was still time for Elliott to hunt a hat-trick but he was thwarted by a fine Clarke save.

Michael O’Neill called Northern Ireland’s 2-0 win over Denmark a step in the right direction but knows his side remain a long way from the finished article.

In their final Group H fixture of a miserable campaign, O’Neill’s side finally beat someone other than minnows San Marino as second-half goals from Isaac Price and Dion Charles earned Northern Ireland their first competitive win over a team ranked above them since they beat Ukraine in June 2016.

It will not paper over the long list of issues facing O’Neill as he tries to rebuild his injury-ravaged squad, but it will provide a much-needed shot of belief and confidence at the end of a year which has seen supplies of both run low.

O’Neill has had to lean on several young players, more than he would have liked, whose introduction to international football has been a tough one, but a night like this can change the narrative.

“It’s totally different,” O’Neill said of the mood inside his dressing room. “You can see the young lads and you can see what it means to them. The ones who were involved in the previous campaign, I think they only won one game and this campaign we’ve only won three.

“We’ve been challenged in this campaign so they’ll take a lot from tonight.

“It’s a good result against a good team but that’s all it is. Hopefully they’ll come back in March with added confidence and belief, regardless of who the opposition are…

“I’m not getting carried away. It’s a step in the right direction and we have to take more steps in the right direction.”

Northern Ireland started well, with Dion Charles hitting the post eight minutes in before Eoin Toal headed wide.

Gradually Denmark, who have finished top of Euro 2024 qualifying Group H despite the loss, grew into the game but Conor Hazard, at fault for Finland’s second goal in Friday’s 4-0 defeat, made two fine saves before half-time to keep the scores level, and the game changed after the break.

Jamal Lewis, having one of his best nights in a Northern Ireland shirt, started the move that led to the first, moving the ball inside via Dion Charles and Shea Charles for Price to rifle in his second international goal.

Then Conor McMenamin came off the bench to send in the low ball that Dion Charles swept home.

After a long and difficult campaign in which Northern Ireland suffered five 1-0 defeats and failed to score in six of their 10 games, it was a welcome moment.

“It’s a very difficult campaign to judge,” O’Neill said. “To be competitive in any campaign we will need a consistency of selection, there’s no getting away from that.

“When we came into this campaign we felt we were going to have a different team and that we would have younger players around it who could energise the team and give us a lift if and when we needed it.

“We’ve ended up playing with a lot of those younger players more than we expected to but they’ve been terrific. Shea Charles has played nine out of 10 and was suspended for one, he’s barely missed a minute and his level of performance is top drawer.

“Isaac as well. I went to see Isaac in February playing in an under-20 game for Everton. I didn’t envisage he would be starting six or seven games, score two goals, playing in a variety of positions.

“These lads have gone through a massive transformation in their careers in the last eight months, never mind adapting to playing international football as well.”

Northern Ireland wrap up their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign when Denmark visit Windsor Park on Monday night.

Here the PA news agency looks at the key talking points ahead of the game.

It’s (almost) over

The good news is that this is the last of Northern Ireland’s Group H fixtures. A campaign which began with such optimism unravelled quickly in the first few games and has never recovered, with seven defeats in nine causing Northern Ireland’s world ranking to drop from 59th to 75th.

Michael O’Neill was clear ahead of the game that it was not as simple as drawing a line and moving on because lessons must be learned, but it will still be welcome to change the narrative of a campaign in which any realistic hope of reaching next year’s finals was gone in by the summer.

Can they end on a high note?

O’Neill said in Finland last week that he and his players would need to look at themselves if they could not take something from at least one of their fixtures against someone other than San Marino, but a 4-0 hiding in Helsinki leaves this match as the final opportunity.

Playing a side ranked 19th in the world and the top seeds in the group is hardly ideal in those circumstances, but Northern Ireland were a tight offside decision away from scoring a late equaliser when they lost 1-0 in Copenhagen in June, so they will take some confidence from that.

Reinforcements

Shea Charles returns from suspension and Paul Smyth is back in the squad following the hamstring injury which prevented him from travelling to Finland.

O’Neill indicated the absence of both players in Helsinki had limited his options not only in terms of personnel but also the shape of his team so their return will be welcome.

O’Neill admitted he needed to consider whether or not he had fielded too many young players at the same time, leaning too heavily on inexperienced players, so any reinforcements will be welcome. However, in keeping with the campaign as a whole there is a fresh injury worry with Daniel Ballard a doubt due to a hamstring problem.

Denmark are through

Denmark’s 2-1 win over Slovenia on Friday night booked their ticket to Euro 2024, meaning neither side has anything too much riding on Monday’s game.

That should in theory benefit Northern Ireland with Denmark no longer desperate for points, but things are not always so simple.

If coach Kasper Hjulmand does choose to make changes, those players who come in will have a point to prove as attention turns to the squad selection for the finals.

Davis back in Belfast

There was a welcome sight at training on Sunday morning as absent captain Steven Davis watched the session from the sidelines.

After his recent spell as interim manager of Rangers, Davis has stepped back from his coaching role to concentrate on his rehabilitation from the knee injury which has sidelined him since December, and O’Neill remains hopeful the 38-year-old can finish his career on the pitch.

In the meantime, his experience in and around the group is invaluable.

“It’s great to see Davo back among the squad,” Paddy McNair said. “It’s great to have him around. When he’s at the hotel he can speak to the younger lads, they can ask him questions and he can pass on his experience.”

Michael O’Neill could point to individual and collective mistakes after Northern Ireland lost 4-0 to Finland in their penultimate Euro 2024 qualifier but the inexperience of his young squad played a major role in Helsinki.

Northern Ireland played well for much of the first half but fell behind to Joel Pohjanpalo’s penalty just before the break, and Daniel Hakans then doubled the lead three minutes into the second half before substitutes Teemu Pukki and Robin Lod added to the score late on.

Ross McCausland made his debut from the start only days after being drafted in as injury cover on Monday, and there was also a late debut for Michael Forbes with O’Neill trying to make up for the raft of missing players.

But it was a sadly familiar story as O’Neill’s men were unable to capitalise on early chances before being punished at the other end.

“We played very well for 40 minutes in the game I thought,” O’Neill said. “We had a plan to make ourselves difficult to beat and to contain Finland and we did it very well, I can’t remember them having any opportunities in that period…

“We created one or two half chances we could have done better with. Then the penalty, for all the work you do in the first 40 minutes you end up going in 1-0 down at half-time because of a penalty.”

Isaac Price clipped Nikolai Alho on the edge of the box before Pohjanpalo sent Conor Hazard the wrong way.

“Probably it’s a challenge he’s better off not attempting,” O’Neill said. “There’s not a lot of contact but there’s enough. The player wasn’t really in a position to shoot, we could possibly have been able to block the shot…

“I was really pleased with the first 40 minutes but obviously by 48 minutes you’re in a really difficult position.”

Hakans’ strike was in many ways the killer blow, coming so early in the second half. The Valerenga winger skipped through four challenges before exchanging passes with Glen Kamara, beating Hazard at his near post.

O’Neill was disappointed with his stand-in goalkeeper, but also accepted more experienced players might have stopped the run by fair means or foul much further from goal.

“It’s a shot that I would not expect to beat my goalkeeper at the near post,” O’Neill said.

“You have to recognise the danger and there’s points in the game where maybe you have to make a technical foul as they call it and we didn’t do that. I felt probably that was something that if I was to be critical of, we didn’t win enough of those types of challenges through the 90 minutes.”

When Finland then introduced Pukki off the bench, with the former Norwich striker scoring the third and creating the fourth, the game quickly went away from Northern Ireland.

“That has been the big difference, the attacking players some of the opposition have had and we saw that tonight with goals three and four,” O’Neill said.

“We’ve got a group of players where a lot of them are new to international football. This is their first campaign. They’re coming into games and the games are going away from them. As a manager I have to support them and back them.

“They have to learn on the job and they’re having to learn quickly.”

The good news is that this miserable qualifying campaign is almost over, with only Monday’s match at home to Denmark remaining.

“When you come out of a defeat you look at the game from a tactical point of view and a performance point of view but what’s most important as a staff and a coach and a group of players is that people don’t question your character or mentality,” O’Neill said.

“That’s what we have to show again on Monday night.”

Michael O’Neill could point to individual and collective mistakes after Northern Ireland lost 4-0 to Finland in their penultimate Euro 2024 qualifier but the inexperience of his young squad played a major role in Helsinki.

Northern Ireland played well for much of the first half but fell behind to Joel Pohjanpalo’s penalty just before the break, and Daniel Hakans then doubled the lead three minutes into the second half before substitutes Teemu Pukki and Robin Lod added to the score late on.

Ross McCausland made his debut from the start only days after being drafted in as injury cover on Monday, and there was also a late debut for Michael Forbes with O’Neill trying to make up for the raft of missing players.

But it was a sadly familiar story as O’Neill’s men were unable to capitalise on early chances before being punished at the other end.

“We played very well for 40 minutes in the game I thought,” O’Neill said. “We had a plan to make ourselves difficult to beat and to contain Finland and we did it very well, I can’t remember them having any opportunities in that period…

“We created one or two half chances we could have done better with. Then the penalty, for all the work you do in the first 40 minutes you end up going in 1-0 down at half-time because of a penalty.”

Isaac Price clipped Nikolai Alho on the edge of the box before Pohjanpalo sent Conor Hazard the wrong way.

“Probably it’s a challenge he’s better off not attempting,” O’Neill said. “There’s not a lot of contact but there’s enough. The player wasn’t really in a position to shoot, we could possibly have been able to block the shot…

“I was really pleased with the first 40 minutes but obviously by 48 minutes you’re in a really difficult position.”

Hakans’ strike was in many ways the killer blow, coming so early in the second half. The Valerenga winger skipped through four challenges before exchanging passes with Glen Kamara, beating Hazard at his near post.

O’Neill was disappointed with his stand-in goalkeeper, but also accepted more experienced players might have stopped the run by fair means or foul much further from goal.

“It’s a shot that I would not expect to beat my goalkeeper at the near post,” O’Neill said.

“You have to recognise the danger and there’s points in the game where maybe you have to make a technical foul as they call it and we didn’t do that. I felt probably that was something that if I was to be critical of, we didn’t win enough of those types of challenges through the 90 minutes.”

When Finland then introduced Pukki off the bench, with the former Norwich striker scoring the third and creating the fourth, the game quickly went away from Northern Ireland.

“That has been the big difference, the attacking players some of the opposition have had and we saw that tonight with goals three and four,” O’Neill said.

“We’ve got a group of players where a lot of them are new to international football. This is their first campaign. They’re coming into games and the games are going away from them. As a manager I have to support them and back them.

“They have to learn on the job and they’re having to learn quickly.”

The good news is that this miserable qualifying campaign is almost over, with only Monday’s match at home to Denmark remaining.

“When you come out of a defeat you look at the game from a tactical point of view and a performance point of view but what’s most important as a staff and a coach and a group of players is that people don’t question your character or mentality,” O’Neill said.

“That’s what we have to show again on Monday night.”

Struggling Northern Ireland found no respite in the freezing temperatures of Helsinki as they suffered a seventh defeat of their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign in a 4-0 loss to Finland.

Michael O’Neill’s injury-ravaged side started well but crumbled after Joel Pohjanpalo’s penalty late in the first half, with second-half goals from Daniel Hakans, Teemu Pukki and Robin Lod piling on the pain.

A crippling list of absentees provides plenty of extenuating circumstances but Northern Ireland have won only three of their last 16 games, and have only scored in three of their nine qualifiers in this campaign – two of those being victories over minnows San Marino.

A young, inexperienced side played some encouraging football in the first half but lacked the cutting edge needed to earn any rewards, and were punished by their play-off bound hosts, who ended a three-game losing streak that cost them any chance of automatic qualification.

The last time Northern Ireland were in Helsinki in October 2015 they had just booked their ticket to Euro 2016, but this time they were without 12 injured players, with O’Neill having to reach ever deeper into the nation’s limited pool of players.

Ross McCausland only made his first Rangers start at the weekend, and was only called up from the Under-21s squad on Monday after an injury to Paul Smyth, but he started ahead of Conor McMenamin to become the 32nd player used by O’Neill in this campaign.

The decision looked a good one as the Linfield academy graduate linked up well with Isaac Price and Dion Charles in some crisp early moves.

When Matti Peltola stumbled on the right McCausland pounced, running down the right and cutting the ball in for Price, but the Standard Liege man shot straight at Lukas Hradecky.

Finland had to wait until the 14th minute for a sight of goal when a half-cleared corner fell for Pohjanpalo to hit on the volley but Conor Hazard, starting in place of the injured Bailey Peacock-Farrell in the city where he spent much of 2022 on loan at HJK, was down smartly to save.

George Saville was captaining the side on the night of his 50th cap but is yet to score in Northern Ireland colours, so it was sadly little surprise to see the Millwall midfielder fire wide after a neat move involving Price, Charles, and Trai Hume.

The game changed when Finland won a penalty six minutes before half-time. Daniel Ballard blocked a shot from Fredrik Jensen but the ball came to Nikolai Alho, who was clipped by Price as he tried to charge at goal.

Pohjanpalo, who started the night with only three goals in his last 20 Finland appearances, took responsibility and sent Hazard the wrong way.

Northern Ireland needed a response but instead conceded a second just three minutes into the second half.

It was a fine goal through Finnish eyes but O’Neill will wonder how Hakans was able to skip through four challenges before exchanging passes with Glen Kamara and then beating Hazard at his near post.

There was a tantalising glimpse of goal in the 69th minute when Price sent in a low cross for substitute Conor Washington, but Miro Tenho did just enough to keep the ball out of reach, and five minutes later substitute Pukki put the game beyond doubt.

The former Norwich man played a one-two with Robert Taylor, rode a challenge from Paddy McNair, and curled a shot beyond the reach of Hazard.

Pukki turned provider in the 88th minute, playing the ball through Ballard’s legs for Lod to poke home, condemning Northern Ireland to their worst result yet in a dismal campaign.

Northern Ireland will play the penultimate match of their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign away to Finland on Friday.

On their last visit to Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium, Northern Ireland earned a point from a 1-1 draw in October 2015 to secure top spot in their group as they qualified for Euro 2016, but the context is very different this time.

Michael O’Neill’s injury-hit side have won just two of their eight Euro 2024 qualifiers so far – both against San Marino – and will be happy to see the back of this campaign after Monday’s match at home to Denmark.

Here the PA news agency looks at the key talking points ahead of Friday’s game.

The hits keep coming

Injuries have been a constant theme throughout a campaign in which Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans and Shane Ferguson will not kick a ball.

But this week has seemed particularly cruel, with five players withdrawing – not least captain Jonny Evans and goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell – in the week since O’Neill named what was already an inexperienced squad last week.

It means 12 players are now out with injury, while Shea Charles is suspended for Friday’s match. O’Neill’s resources have never been more stretched than they are now.

Inexperience

With Paul Smyth, Paddy Lane and Brad Lyons joining Evans and Peacock-Farrell in pulling out of this trip, O’Neill has drafted in Ross McCausland, Caolan Boyd-Munce, Terry Devlin, Michael Forbes and Stephen McMullan.

All five are uncapped at senior level, while nine players in O’Neill’s squad have yet to reach double figures in caps.

Indeed, only Paddy McNair, Josh Magennis, George Saville, Jordan Thompson, Jamal Lewis and Conor Washington have more than 20 to their name. This is a very raw group.

A big opportunity for Hazard

With Peacock-Farrell out Conor Hazard is in line to start in Helsinki, the city where he enjoyed a loan spell in 2022, playing 39 games for HJK.

The 25-year-old will be up against plenty of familiar faces with four members of Finland’s squad – Arrtu Hoskonen, Pyry Peltola, Miro Tenho and Lucas Lingham – having been team-mates of his in the Finnish capital.

Hazard has made only one previous competitive appearance for Northern Ireland, last month in the 3-0 win over San Marino, although he played the full 90 minutes without needing to make a save.

But since then Hazard has lost the number one spot at Sky Bet Championship club Plymouth after Mike Cooper returned from nine months out with a ruptured ACL.

Signs of progress?

Despite everything that has gone wrong for Northern Ireland so far, O’Neill is adamant he has seen signs of progress in his side as he looks to develop young players who can spearhead future qualifying campaigns.

Players like Charles, Trai Hume and Isaac Price are starting to make their mark on this side and could now be considered contenders for regular playing time even within a fully-fit squad, while Daniel Ballard is emerging as a leader at the back.

But there is also frustration that players such as Conor Bradley, who could have really established himself over the past few months, have also been missing for most of the campaign with injury.

Saville’s big night

George Saville will take the armband for Friday’s match to mark the occasion the Millwall midfielder earns a landmark 50th cap.

The 30-year-old’s unfashionable role in midfield means has rarely been one to excite the Green and White Army during his international career, and while he may have scored a beauty against Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend, he is yet to break his duck for Northern Ireland.

But with seasoned internationals in desperately short supply, Saville’s experience has rarely been more important to the team.

Michael O’Neill is bracing himself for another challenging international window as Northern Ireland’s bruising Euro 2024 qualifying campaign comes to an end this month.

Any hope of reaching next summer’s tournament was virtually extinguished as long ago as June, and with only two wins – both against San Marino – and six defeats in Group H, Northern Ireland would have been forgiven for wanting to fast forward to the end of a campaign ruined by an ongoing injury crisis.

But two games remain and with a trip to Finland, the pot two team in last October’s draw, to come before top seeds Denmark visit Windsor Park on October 20, they are two of the hardest on paper.

O’Neill on Wednesday welcomed back Ciaron Brown and Jordan Jones into his squad but the 26-strong group was another one largely dictated by who is and who is not available due to injury, and the headwinds remain firmly against Northern Ireland.

Finland blew their chance to qualify with back-to-back defeats to Slovenia and Kazakhstan last month, but Denmark are level on points with Slovenia at the top of the standings, looking to finish the job off.

“They will be difficult games but all the games have been difficult,” O’Neill told the PA news agency.

“When I look at the team and I take the results out of it and look at where we are, how we are in possession and a number of other areas, there’s not a lot of difference between all the teams in the group bar Denmark who have been the most dominant.

“We have to look at the positives. We’re not that far behind these teams but we’ve come out on the wrong side of narrow scorelines. We have to learn from that.

“We have been more dominant in possession than some of my previous teams but we’ve not carried the same threat, and obviously we’ve gone behind in games so we’ve not had the opportunity to defend a lead and I think that’s when you’ve seen the best of Northern Ireland, in that situation.”

Although Brown and Jones return, Conor Bradley, Ali McCann and Shayne Lavery all remain unavailable, as do the senior players – Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans and Shane Ferguson – who have missed the entire campaign.

“It’s a blow not to have young Conor back and to have Ali McCann and Shayne Lavery still out as well,” O’Neill said.

“We’re trying to pick a consistent squad and with the injuries there are still up to seven or eight players who could be involved that aren’t.

“It’s not like there’s a number of players on the periphery we could select ahead of those we have selected. The lads we’ve picked are the ones playing more regular football at their clubs and who merit their place at this moment in time.

“We’re trying to grow a team, to develop a team and we have to continue to do that. With the older players we don’t know what involvement they will have going forward, that’s a decision they have to make.

“The backbone of the squad is very, very young and we have to get as much international experience into them as possible and hopefully that experience is as positive as possible as well.”

Daniel Ballard is fit again after a calf injury, while Shea Charles retains his place in the group although the Southampton player will miss the trip to Helsinki through suspension, having been sent off in last month’s 1-0 home defeat to Slovenia.

Eighteen-year-old striker Callum Marshall is in the squad again after some excellent form for West Ham Under-21s, and will hope for another chance after being denied a debut goal away to Denmark in June when his late equaliser was disallowed.

Michael O’Neill has told Shea Charles he must learn from his dismissal after Northern Ireland suffered yet another 1-0 defeat in Euro 2024 qualifying, this time at home to Slovenia.

The 19-year-old Charles has been one of the bright spots for Northern Ireland in a hugely frustrating qualifying campaign, among the young players who have grabbed the chance to establish themselves in the side amid an injury nightmare.

But his international copybook got its first blemish as he collected two yellow cards to be sent off just before the hour mark at Windsor Park, meaning his run of starting every game so far in this campaign will end when Northern Ireland head to Finland next month.

The Southampton midfielder was booked for dissent just a few minutes into the match, protesting against the dubious decision to award Slovenia the free-kick from which Adam Cerin won the game, and then saw red when he caught Andraz Sporar late in the 58th minute.

Northern Ireland had been frustrated by several decisions from referee Istvan Kovacs on the night but O’Neill said that was something they had to be able to handle.

“This is a learning curve for young players,” he said. “(Slovenia) are a much more experienced international team than we are. You can see that in the way they managed the situation and played the referee a little bit.

“The emotion in the stadium obviously transferred to the players a little bit, everyone gets a bit frustrated with some of the decisions…If you’re booked for dissent, that’s poor. You put yourself under pressure so we have to learn from that.”

“We’ve probably seen a little combination of inexperience in a number of players and also just the nature of the emotion in the game when you’re chasing the game against a team that are a little bit more experienced and that can spill over a little bit.

“But I think that on the night we were pretty disappointed with the performance of the referee.”

This was Northern Ireland’s fifth 1-0 defeat of a campaign in which they have faced endless injury problems, with O’Neill forced to use two more fresh faces – Eoin Toal and Brad Lyons – on the night to take the number who have played in the eight qualifiers so far to 31.

O’Neill could rightly argue that this performance was a step forward from last month’s 4-2 defeat to Slovenia in Ljubljana considering the way a makeshift defence was able to stifle Benjamin Sesko – who went down easily to win the decisive free-kick off Jamal Lewis – and Sporar.

But ultimately it was another defeat, a sixth out of eight with only two wins over minnows San Marino to break up the run.

“I think there is always frustration when you lose the game – and a little bit of disappointment as well,” he said.

“I think the players deserved more out of it than what they got. We have had a frustrating campaign, a very challenging campaign and tonight’s game was probably a reflection of that once again.”

Captain Jonny Evans ended the night limping heavily after taking a late blow to his foot, having already been down in the first half to receive treatment.

“He’s obviously hobbling a little bit in there,” O’Neill said of the Manchester United defender. “I think the same foot was stamped on three times so he’s limping pretty badly but I think he’ll be fine.

“It will be one of those where when he wakes up in the morning he’ll be pretty sore but there’s no real damage as far as I know.”

Ten-man Northern Ireland returned to the all-too-familiar feeling of defeat as Adam Cerin’s early free-kick put Group H leaders Slovenia on the verge of qualifying for Euro 2024 with a scrappy 1-0 win at Windsor Park.

Saturday’s 3-0 victory over minnows San Marino ended Northern Ireland’s five-game losing streak but it proved only a temporary reprieve in an injury-ravaged qualifying campaign which has now seen Michael O’Neill’s side suffer five 1-0 defeats in eight games.

The defining moment of the match came early on. While there was no doubt about the quality of Adam Cerin’s fifth-minute free-kick, Northern Ireland were fuming at referee Istvan Kovacs’ decision to award it after Jamal Lewis barely clipped Benjamin Sesko on the edge of the box.

Shea Charles was booked for dissent and that proved costly just before the hour mark when the Southampton midfielder went in late on Andraz Sporar and was sent off, the first blemish on the 19-year-old’s impressive start in international football.

Charles has started every game of this campaign but will now miss November’s trip to Finland, another headache for O’Neill, who was forced into further changes here with Dan Ballard out with a thigh problem and Paddy McNair suspended following his late yellow card on Saturday.

The manager responded with bold choices, handing debuts to Bolton defender Eoin Toal and Kilmarnock midfielder Brad Lyons, the 30th and 31st players to be used in eight qualifiers so far, despite more experienced options on the bench.

The atmosphere inside a below-capacity Windsor Park was already flat at the start with but it fell silent after Cerin’s goal, the fans not even having the energy to resume the anti-Casement Park chanting heard before kick-off. As the night wore on, a sense of injustice would rouse the fans.

Northern Ireland responded quickly when Slovenia scored early in Ljubljana last month, a 4-2 defeat, but struggled to threaten here. Paul Smyth, the star of the show on Saturday, found little joy on the right. On the left Lewis had more joy in finding space but lacked the quality of cross required.

Although limited going forward, Northern Ireland were at least ensuring Slovenia’s powerful strike force had few sights of Bailey Peacock-Farrell’s goal.

After one rare attack, Slovenia appeared to have been gifted a second just after the half hour. Trai Hume’s poor headed clearance went straight to Jan Mlakar and Toal got it all wrong trying to cut out his low cross, allowing Sesko to thump home from close range.

However, the visitors’ celebrations were cut short after the referee checked the replay, deeming Sporar to be interfering from an offside position.

O’Neill sent on Washington for Josh Magennis at the break and was planning further changes a little over 10 minutes in before Charles saw red, forcing a rethink.

Conor McMenamin, amongst the goals on Saturday, had been due to come on but instead it was George Saville, Dion Charles and Isaac Price who entered the fray in a triple change.

The substitutes combined for Northern Ireland’s best move in the 69th minute as Price drove down the right, exchanged passes with Washington and then pulled the ball back for Saville but the midfielder, yet to score for Northern Ireland after 49 appearances, did not get enough power on his shot.

There was a let-off in the 72nd minute when Mlakar found space in front of goal but got the contact on his shot all wrong, while at the other end Dion Charles blazed harmlessly wide.

Northern Ireland still pushed forward but another flowing move ended with Saville shooting straight at Oblak and other attacks were thwarted by the over-officious Kovacs.

Captain Jonny Evans, who had treatment on an ankle injury in the first half, ended the game limping heavily after another strong impact when challenging for a corner.

Michael O’Neill knows Saturday’s 3-0 win over San Marino was only a small step forward for his Northern Ireland side but it is still one he said can be important for a young and developing side.

Paul Smyth got a goal and an assist on his first international start while there was also a first Northern Ireland goal for Conor McMenamin, with Josh Magennis getting another in a comfortable win at Windsor Park.

But while Northern Ireland were always in control, 2-0 up after 11 minutes, the limitations which have seen their qualifying campaign unravel with five straight defeats since an opening victory over the same opposition in March were again on show in an often unexciting display.

Northern Ireland finished the match with five players eligible for the under-21s on the pitch, once more deprived of much-needed experience by their long injury list.

“For a number of our players they won’t have won a lot of games in international football, they’ve not played a lot of games in international football and they’ve not won a lot, so any win is positive,” O’Neill said.

“It’s a good feeling, you feel it in the dressing room. We can take that feeling into Tuesday night’s game (against Slovenia) when there’s a team coming who have got a lot to play for.”

Having raced into an early lead and then seen a 31st-minute strike from star man Smyth eventually disallowed for offside after a long VAR check, Northern Ireland lost momentum and the atmosphere fell flat before McMenamin completed the scoring in the 81st minute.

This was only Northern Ireland’s third win in their last 18 games at Windsor Park but even then the crowd was quiet, artificially boosted at one point by the sound of chanting being played on the PA system.

That reflected Northern Ireland’s standing in Group H, where the only team they have avoided defeat against is the one ranked 207th and last in the world.

“All we can do is just continue to work with the players, build them up, try and get confidence,” O’Neill added.

“When you’re working with a new group of players and working on how you want to play as a team, results help build belief in what you’re doing and that’s the biggest thing the win will give us, a little bit of belief.

“The work we did in the week was pretty much how the opening two goals were scored and that’s something the players took well into the game.”

Talk of the injuries that have ravaged Northern Ireland’s campaign is nothing new, but there is no denying their impact and it extends well beyond the headlines names of Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, and Corry Evans, stretching deep into Northern Ireland’s limited reserves.

“Even if you look at Conor Bradley, he’s only played three games for us in this campaign and that’s probably all he will play if I’m honest,” O’Neill added of the Liverpool wing-back. “November will be very touch and go for Conor. That makes it difficult.”

The hope for O’Neill and Northern Ireland is that there is something to be gained down the line as so many of those players still around from the famous Euro 2016 campaign near the end of the road.

“We have to use what we have done, mainly through necessity, to take us forward because the players we talk about that are missing, we’re not really sure how long they will continue to play for at international level,” the manager added.

“We’ve already seen Craig (Cathcart) retire. These players won’t continue forever.

“What we have to do between now and March 2025 when World Cup qualification starts is we’ve got to get as much international football into these young players as possible because they will probably form the foundation and the backbone of the team.”

Paul Smyth marked his first start for Northern Ireland with a goal and an assist as they saw off San Marino 3-0, but although Michael O’Neill’s side ended a five-game losing streak it was a largely drab affair at Windsor Park.

QPR striker Smyth, earning a sixth cap, got his first competitive goal for his country just five minutes in and then teed up Josh Magennis to get the second moments later, but it took until the 81st minute for Northern Ireland to get a third as substitute Conor McMenamin got his maiden strike.

Victory over a side ranked 207th and last in the world will do nothing to solve the bigger problems that have plagued Northern Ireland throughout a miserable Euro 2024 qualifying campaign and beyond, but it does at least change the narrative as they recorded a first home win in over a year.

Looking to mix things up, O’Neill brought a number of fresh faces into his starting line-up, with Conor Hazard making his first competitive appearance in goal and first starts for Smyth and Dale Taylor.

Almost immediately the two forwards combined as Taylor met Smyth’s low cross at the near post, but he was unable to keep his shot down from a difficult angle.

No matter, because two minutes later Smyth scored, arriving on cue to volley in Jamal Lewis’ dinked cross from the left.

And only six minutes later, Magennis doubled the advantage as Smyth turned provider, driving a low cross in from the right which Magennis turned in at the near post – his first goal since the winner against Kosovo in September 2022, Northern Ireland’s last Windsor Park victory before this.

Any fears that San Marino might upset a struggling Northern Ireland side dissipated and they continued to drive forward against their part-time opponents, with Daniel Ballard heading narrowly wide and Trai Hume sending a shot over from distance after being encouraged to try his luck by the crowd.

Smyth thought he had a second in the 31st minute when Jonny Evans sent forward a long ball and he arrived to lift it over the goalkeeper with another volleyed finish, but it was ruled out for offside after a lengthy VAR check.

But despite the scoreline the atmosphere inside Windsor Park felt flat, to the extent that at one point in the first half chanting was even played on the PA system, and it was not helped when a torrential downpour before half-time sent those in the family stand scrambling for cover.

The 19-year-old Taylor had chances to emulate Smyth’s achievement on his first start after the break, but headed over from Paddy McNair’s free-kick and then squandered a better opportunity just before the hour, poking a shot wide after being played in by Magennis.

O’Neill then brought on another exciting teenager in West Ham striker Callum Marshall, one of three changes as Conor Washington and Isaac Price also came on with Smyth, Magennis and Evans departing and Ballard taking the captain’s armband.

Washington was fortunate to avoid an almost immediate red card when he connected heavily with the ankle of Lorenzo Lazzari, but referee Bram Van Driessche decided a yellow card was sufficient after being advised to check the replay.

San Marino goalkeeper Elia Benedettini made a double save to deny Price and then Marshall but Northern Ireland were struggling to carve out clear chances as the visitors defended deep.

But McMenamin came on along with Brodie Spencer with a little over 10 minutes left, and the St Mirren winger was on the scoresheet moments later.

Benedettini got a hand to a powerful strike from Washington, but could only push it into the centre of goal, where McMenamin was waiting to wrap up the win for Northern Ireland.