The Irish FA have handed Michael O’Neill a new five-and-a-half-year contract after the former Stoke manager agreed to become the Northern Ireland boss. It will of, course, be the second time that O’Neill has taken charge of Northern Ireland having held the position from 2011 to early 2020. It was undoubtedly an extremely successful time for O’Neill at the helm of Northern Irish football but the obvious question now is whether the 53-year-old can have the same positive impact.
Can O’Neill help Northern Ireland overachieve again?
To begin with, there is a significant amount to do after a few years of treading water without O’Neill in charge. In particular, qualification for major tournaments will be the top priority in the 53-year-old’s in-tray, with a focus on getting the country to compete at the world’s biggest events again. Whilst that may seem a pipe dream to some, the reality is that Northern Ireland achieved the remarkable milestone of reaching a World Cup quarterfinal back in 1958 only to lose to France, the nation who are, coincidentally, the favourites in the latest Fifa World Cup betting to win the 2022 event in Qatar at odds of 11/10.
Irrespective of the fact that Northern Ireland have an admirable history at World Cups, there is no getting away from the fact that it has been a tough time for the country’s fans over the last few years. Ultimately, this is why the Irish FA have turned to O’Neill in the hope that he can repeat his astonishing success in 2016 when he steered the country to the Euro Championships in France. On that occasion, Northern Ireland didn’t only qualify for the tournament but also managed to escape the group stages and reach the round of 16 where they were eventually beaten by Wales in an enthralling encounter.
In addition to this impressive 2016 Euro campaign that will always be looked back on fondly by fans of Northern Ireland, O’Neill also came agonizingly close to qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia only for his charges to lose a tense play-off game against Switzerland. Tellingly, it was in many respects, a game that Northern Ireland should have won only for the Swiss to edge it on aggregate. Following that heartbreak in Basel, O’Neill’s last assignment was to help Northern Ireland reach the 2020 Euro Championships but unfortunately for the nation, they were drawn into the qualifying group of death alongside the Netherlands and Germany. Despite this, they only narrowly missed out after once again punching well above their weight on the international scene.
In essence, you could say that it hasn’t always ended in outright success for O’Neill’s Northern Ireland in the past, but crucially, he has always made this nation with a population of just less than two million people incredibly competitive.
Qualification for Euro 2024 looks achievable
It will be the Irish FA’s fervent hope that this will be the case again during O’Neill’s second coming and encouragingly, there is good reason to believe that there will be an immediate success after Northern Ireland were drawn in a Euro 2024 qualifying group alongside Denmark, Slovenia, Finland, Kazakhstan, and San Marino.
Indeed, the good times could be just around the corner again for Northern Ireland thanks to O’Neill’s return, which has coincided with a long overdue st
