Natalie Johnson Reflects on “Baptism of Fire” First Start for Northern Ireland

Natalie Johnson described her initial start for Northern Ireland, which occurred on Friday in the Euro 2025 play-off first leg against Norway, as a “baptism of fire.” The accompanying image shows her in action against Frida Maanum of Arsenal. However, the 31-year-old Nottingham Forest defender expressed that she was “delighted” following what she termed a long journey. Johnson had been part of national squads prior to the Covid-19 pandemic but had not yet made her debut. Her extensive wait concluded when she appeared as a second-half substitute during the first-round play-off victory against Croatia in October. Subsequently, she received her full debut start in the 4-0 defeat by Norway at Inver Park. “It was a baptism of fire coming in but I’m really proud that they trusted me on such a big occasion, against such a good team,” Johnson stated. She added, “I’m not getting any younger, so to be achieving these goals at this point of my career, I’m really proud.” After a four-year absence from the international scene, Johnson confessed that she had not anticipated ever receiving international recognition again. Johnson remarked, “I’ve grown a lot as a player in the time that I’ve been gone. Coming back in, a lot has changed but it’s been brilliant. It’s just been like a dream, to be honest.” Johnson participated for the entire 90 minutes at Inver Park, during which the favored Norwegian team delivered a precise first-half display, scoring three goals. Nevertheless, Tanya Oxtoby’s squad demonstrated improvement in the second half, restricting Norway to a single goal, which resulted from a chaotic situation after a set piece. She commented, “It was exciting. These are the type of players you want to test yourself against. You watch them on TV and think ‘wow, what a player’. To test myself against that for Northern Ireland was unbelievable.” When questioned about the difference between confronting Norway’s highly talented team in person versus observing them on television, she acknowledged it was “just as fast.” Johnson elaborated, “Just as fast. It was fast, it took us a little while to get into it but once we did, I think we gave a good account of ourselves. I’m enjoying every minute of being in with this squad and the staff. I’m enjoying it too much to stop now and I’m happy to be here.” Although Northern Ireland acknowledges that advancing to the Euros next summer is improbable, Johnson expressed her hope that the youthful team can gain valuable experience from competing against a team of Norway’s caliber. She concluded, “It’s an opportunity for us to learn and implement very quickly. We trust the process with Tanya. I think if we can show we have learned something on Tuesday then I think we’ve won.”