Northern Ireland's World Cup dream may have come to a disappointing end in Italy, but attention quickly turned to what lies ahead. The disappointment of missing out on a first World Cup in 40 years, after well-taken strikes from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean for the hosts in Bergamo, will sting for a while yet. The average age of Michael O'Neill's starting team was just 22.5 years - the country's second youngest on record since World War Two. Paddy McNair was the only player over the age of 24, and O'Neill was missing three key players in Conor Bradley, Trai Hume and Ali McCann. "But for a nation of our size, to come with a team of that age and play as we did, there's a lot more positives.

Source: BBC March 27, 2026 00:44 UTC