Oxtoby: Northern Ireland Respects All Opponents, Fears No One

The two legs of Northern Ireland’s Euro 2025 play-off against Norway will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website. Tanya Oxtoby’s tenure as Northern Ireland’s manager commenced on an autumn afternoon in Dublin, where the Republic of Ireland secured a decisive 3-0 victory. Currently, 14 months later, her team is only two matches away from securing qualification for Euro 2025. Norway presents a significant challenge to their progression. Given the presence of Barcelona’s Caroline Graham Hansen, former Ballon d’Or recipient Ada Hegerberg, and WSL players Frida Maanum and Guro Reiten within the Norwegian squad, it is evident that Northern Ireland enters the two-legged play-off as considerable underdogs. Despite the immediate challenge, Oxtoby did not anticipate this level of progress occurring so rapidly. The Australian, who joined Northern Ireland following her time as Emma Hayes’ assistant at Chelsea, stated, “The competitor in me probably would have said I wanted to be where we are now in six to nine months.” She further added, “However, coming into the role and evaluating where we were at, I suppose the honest answer is no, I couldn’t have imagined us being where we are now so soon.” Despite suffering two significant losses to the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland maintained its position in League B for Euro 2025 qualifying by securing a play-off victory against Montenegro. Their campaign to reach the Euros commenced with a goalless draw at home against Malta, followed by a notable win in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Portugal, who were the top seeds in their group, emerged victorious in both encounters against Oxtoby’s team. Nevertheless, Northern Ireland secured a play-off spot by overcoming Malta in an away fixture and Bosnia at home. Their initial play-off match resulted in a 1-1 draw in Croatia, after which Lauren Wade’s decisive extra-time goal propelled Northern Ireland to within 180 minutes of consecutive European Championships. Reflecting on the team’s advancement since her inaugural match in Dublin, Oxtoby stated, “I think we’ve done an exceptional job” and “that’s a credit to everyone involved.” She further elaborated, “Both the association and all the staff involved to get us to where we are now, if I’m being really honest. There was a lot of work to do behind the scenes and there was a lot of buy-in from the playing group, which has now come to fruition and we’re in a great place.” Since assuming her role, Oxtoby has consistently articulated that her objective for Northern Ireland is to compete in major tournaments. Northern Ireland experienced a taste of elite competition at the previous Euros held in England, where they suffered a 4-1 defeat to Norway in their inaugural major tournament match. Additionally, Norway secured 6-0 victories in both Euro 2022 qualifying fixtures between the two teams. Out of the 16 players who participated in the Euros opening match in Southampton two years prior, only seven are part of the squad for the forthcoming play-off. Oxtoby further expressed her “excitement” to observe how her young team will perform against Norway, who secured their play-off against Northern Ireland with an imposing 14-0 aggregate victory over Albania. The 42-year-old remarked, “This whole journey has catapulted in the last six months.” She continued, “What a brilliant occasion for us to go and challenge ourselves and learn some more and see the areas we have to develop. We want to go to the next level and to do that we have to play the best teams, so this is going to be a great one for us.” Lauren Wade’s exceptional extra-time goal secured Northern Ireland’s spot in the ultimate stage of the Euro 2025 play-offs. Although these matches are undeniably the most significant of Oxtoby’s management thus far, her directive to her young squad is unambiguous: focus on the game itself, not the magnitude of the event. Few anticipate Northern Ireland’s advancement, particularly given the two-legged format of the match. Oxtoby commented, “I’m used to being the underdog. We have spoken about not getting wrapped up in the occasion.” She continued, “We want to be playing at major tournaments, so to be playing against teams like Norway, who have been there and done it numerous times, gives us a great opportunity for us to learn where we are at.” Oxtoby further stated that her team intends to “embrace the challenge.” Norway represents a clear escalation in opposition compared to Northern Ireland’s prior adversaries, but the former Chelsea assistant affirmed that she “knows the girls are up for it.” “We will have to do things quicker, with a lot more purpose and intent, but we’re not going to move away from who we are and what we are doing,” she explained. “It’s another great challenge for the group and we’re looking forward to it as a collective. We respect every opponent but we don’t fear anybody. At the end of the day, any opportunity we get to play a good team is a chance for us to learn and get better.” The initial leg is scheduled for Friday, 29 November, at Inver Park (19:00 GMT), with the return leg taking place in Oslo on Tuesday, 3 December (17:00 GMT).