Northern Ireland Men's Football Team

Image source, BBC Sport

After their 1-1 draw with Switzerland on Friday night in Belfast, Michael O'Neill's side is in Stockholm to face Sweden tonight.

Here's all you need to know to follow the match across BBC Northern Ireland

Where can I watch it?

We'll be live on BBC Two NI and BBC iPlayer from 17:45 GMT with text build-up starting on the BBC Sport website from 17:00 GMT.

Coverage will end on BBC Two NI at 20:15 GMT but we'll have more analysis and interviews on the iPlayer and BBC Sport website so if you are watching on TV, don't forget to switch over!

If you can't get to a screen then don't worry, you can listen on BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio Foyle or BBC Sounds from 17:50 GMT too.

Who are the pundits?

Once again, we've got well over 200 international caps between our team of experts on duty to analyse the game.

ing Stephen Watson in our Belfast studio will be men's record international goal-scorer David Healy, former NI midfielder Jim Magilton and the recently retired former women's captain Marissa Callaghan.

Out in Stockholm, Stephen Craigan will Thomas Kane in the commentary box with Gavin Andrews pitchside to get all the reaction.

Our radio coverage will be hosted by Joel Taggart alongside former internationals Keith Gillespie and George McCartney with Michael Clarke on commentary duties with John O'Neill.

What's the latest team news?

The big news from Friday's game is that Sunderland's Trai Hume will miss the game with a hip injury.

Midfielder Ethan Galbraith sat out of training on Monday with O'Neill describing his absence as a precaution.

Shea Charles will captain the side at the Strawberry Arena, which will be the third time the Sheffield Wednesday midfielder has led his country.

For the hosts, Newcastle's in-form striker Alexander Isak is expected to start as is Nottingham Forest's Antony Elanga.

Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof is likely to return to the starting eleven after missing the defeat to Luxembourg but Viktor Gyokeres and Dejan Kulusevski are not in the squad.

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist in Stockholm

Image source, Getty Images

International Friendly: Sweden v Northern Ireland

Venue: Strawberry Arena, Stockholm Date: Tuesday, 25 March Kick-off: 18:00 GMT

Coverage: Watch live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two NI, listen on BBC Sounds and live text commentary & in-play clips on the BBC Sport website

Jon Dahl Tomasson says he expects a response from Sweden against Northern Ireland after Saturday's surprise defeat in Luxembourg.

Seid Korac hit a first-half winner as Sweden were shocked by the side who will be in Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifying group in September.

Led by Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak and Nottingham Forest's Anthony Elanga, Sweden will be a stern test for Northern Ireland, who drew 1-1 with Switzerland on Friday, despite their result in Luxembourg.

"It was a very disappointing performance," said Tomasson, who became Sweden manager in February 2024 after leaving Blackburn Rovers.

"I couldn't recognise my team in Luxembourg.

"Now we are playing Northern Ireland, who are a really good team. They won their Nations League group, like we did, and they are on a good run."

Tomasson says that Michael O'Neill's Northern Ireland "are a solid team" and he expects a good game in Stockholm, which will be live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two NI. from 17:45 GMT.

"I have to it I like it when I see the team play," the former Newcastle United and Denmark striker added.

"They are a difficult team to play against. Every game is important, so we will look forward to it."

Image source, Getty

Defender Trai Hume will miss Northern Ireland's friendly against Sweden in Stockholm on Tuesday with a hip injury.

The Sunderland man won his 20th cap in the 1-1 draw against Switzerland on Friday night but Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill said the 23-year-old has been dealing with a hip issue that was "sore" after the game.

"He'd not really been training with Sunderland, just playing games and getting through games," said O'Neill.

"He felt quite sore after the game on Friday and we thought rather than put him through that again it was better to send him back to the club and have that investigated."

Sunderland are fourth in the Championship, 11 points behind leaders Leeds United.

Northern Ireland's next games after Tuesday are friendlies with Denmark and Iceland in June.

ONeill added: "It's not something that we want, or Sunderland want, to drag on.

"They've got a lot to play for and we would not want him to come here and subsequently miss the games in June either."

Northern Ireland's only other injury doubt after the Switzerland draw is midfielder Ethan Galbraith who sat out training on Monday.

O'Neill said the Leyton Orient man's absence at the Strawberry Arena was a "precaution".

Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Shea Charles will captain the side for the third time in the game having previously worn the armband in Nations League games against Belarus and Luxembourg in November.

Image source, Getty Images

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill says his side must "embrace the challenge" of being drawn against in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

's 5-4 aggregate victory over Italy in the Nations League quarter-finals last week confirmed that Northern Ireland's campaign to reach next summer's tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada will pit them against the four-time champions, as well as Luxembourg and Slovakia.

"It'll be a tough, tough challenge," O'Neill told BBC Sport in Stockholm, where his side face Sweden in a friendly on Tuesday evening (18:00 GMT).

"You're probably wanting to avoid but we have to embrace the challenge.

"A group with ourselves, Slovakia, Luxembourg and now at the top of that, will provide the stiffest of tests for us."

Northern Ireland have lost their past eight competitive games against , including five during O'Neill's first spell in charge of the team between 2011 and 2020.

"It's as tough as we could get, let's be honest," he added.

"We've played them in my previous reign. We had five games against them and we never managed to take anything.

"I think in a lot of those games we gave a good of ourselves."

O'Neill confirms Denmark trip

After drawing with Switzerland on Tuesday, Northern Ireland have three remaining friendly fixtures before that qualifying campaign begins with a trip to Luxembourg on 4 September.

Nations League results over the weekend also confirmed their June schedule with an away game in Denmark now to be played in addition to hosting Iceland on 10 June.

"We'll have had a real Scandinavian flavour between March and June," O'Neill said.

"Again, a good test. We played them recently in [qualifying for] Euro 2024 and it's good exposure for the team.

"We're testing ourselves, we're not taking easy games and we'll hopefully see the benefit of that in September."

Image source, Getty Images

International Friendly: Sweden v Northern Ireland

Venue: Strawberry Arena, Stockholm Date: Tuesday, 25 March Kick-off: 18:00 GMT

Coverage: Watch live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two NI, listen on BBC Sounds and live text commentary & in-play clips on the BBC Sport website

Northern Ireland defender Brodie Spencer says he is looking forward to testing himself "against the best" when they take on Sweden in Tuesday's friendly.

Michael O'Neill's young side drew with Switzerland on Friday as their positive run of form continued.

After topping their Nations League group, Northern Ireland have now lost just two of their past 11 matches.

While Sporting striker Victor Gyokeres is expected to be out, Newcastle forward Alexander Isak is in a strong Swedish squad for the game in Stockholm.

"You want to play against the best, to test yourself and see where that puts you," Spencer said on playing top-tier opponents.

"Being a young defender, to have that challenge so early in my career would be amazing."

After Isaac Price's superb opener was cancelled out by Vincent Sierro, the 20-year-old said Northern Ireland were "happy" with a draw against Switzerland but "we could have got a bit more out of the game".

With Isak and Nottingham Forest's Anthony Elanga leading the line, Sweden suffered a shock 1-0 defeat by Luxembourg on Friday.

Spencer believes the friendly, which will be the latest in preparation for the start of 2026 World Cup qualifying in September, will be "quite similar" to facing the Swiss.

"It will be a tough game and a game full of concentration," said the Huddersfield Town right-back.

"It will be a game full of important moments, and hopefully we can go out and put on a good performance again.

"We knew we had to try and kick on from the Nations League. Being able to top the group was a great experience for us all."

Image source, Getty Images

Northern Ireland will take on in World Cup qualifying Group A after Julian Nagelsmann's side beat Italy in the Nations League play-offs.

led 2-1 after the first leg in the San Siro and raced into a 3-0 advantage in the second leg at Signal Iduna Park.

Italy fought back to level the game at 3-3 on the night, but it wasn't enough as progressed 5-4 on aggregate to reach the semi-finals.

They will now be top seeds in Group A of the World Cup qualifiers, which start in September as it is a four-team group.

were Northern Ireland's opposition in the Euro 2020 qualifiers with the Germans triumphing 2-0 in Belfast before going on to earn a thumping 6-1 victory in Frankfurt.

Michael O'Neill's side will be away against on Sunday, 7 September and the return encounter in Belfast on Monday, 13 October.

Meanwhile, Portugal will be in Republic of Ireland's group after overcoming Denmark 5-3 on aggregate in their play-offs quarter-final.

Portugal will host the Irish in Group F on 11 October with the return match in Dublin on 13 November.

Only group winners will secure automatic spots in the USA, Canada and Mexico with the 12 runners-up going through to play-offs, where four qualifying berths will be available.

Image source, BBC Sport

It's matchday and here is all you need to know about tonight's coverage of Northern Ireland and Switzerland across BBC Sport NI.

Where can I watch it?

We'll be live on BBC Two NI and BBC iPlayer from 19:00 GMT with text build-up starting on the BBC Sport website from 18:30 GMT.

Coverage will end on BBC Two NI at 22:00 GMT but we'll have more analysis and interviews on the iPlayer and BBC Sport website so if you are watching on TV, don't forget to switch over!

If you can't get to a screen then don't worry, you can listen on BBC Radio Foyle or BBC Sounds from 19:30 GMT too.

Who are the pundits?

Image source, Inpho

We've lined up a stellar cast of pundits for Friday's match.

ing Stephen Watson on our TV coverage will be men's record international goal-scorer David Healy, former NI midfielder Jim Magilton and the recently retired former women's captain Marissa Callaghan.

Stephen Craigan, who played over 50 times for Northern Ireland, will Thomas Kane in the commentary box with Gavin Andrews pitchside to get all the reaction.

Our radio coverage will be hosted by Joel Taggart alongside former internationals Keith Gillespie and George McCartney with Michael Clarke on commentary duties with John O'Neill.

Who's in the NI squad?

There's three uncapped players in Michael O'Neill's squad for the match against Switzerland with Jamie Donley, Ronan Hale and Terry Devlin in line to win their first caps for Northern Ireland.

Paddy McNair is the captain and the only remaining squad member from the Euro 2016 campaign.

Eoin Toal and Dion Charles had to withdraw from the squad, which was already missing Conor Bradley and Dan Ballard, with Kofi Balmer added in.

Full NI squad:

Goalkeepers: Pierce Charles (Sheffield Wednesday), Conor Hazard (Plymouth Argyle), Luke Southwood (Bolton Wanderers).

Defenders: Ciaron Brown (Oxford United), Trai Hume (Sunderland), Brodie Spencer (Huddersfield Town), Ruairi McConville (Norwich City), Paddy McNair (San Diego FC), Terry Devlin (Portsmouth), Aaron Donnelly (Dundee), Kofi Balmer (Motherwell).

Midfielders: George Saville (Millwall), Jordan Thompson (Stoke City), Shea Charles (Sheffield Wednesday - on loan from Southampton), Isaac Price (West Bromwich Albion), Paul Smyth (Queens Park Rangers), Ethan Galbraith (Leyton Orient), Brad Lyons (Kilmarnock), Justin Devenny (Crystal Palace). Ross McCausland (Rangers).

Forwards: Jamie Donley (Leyton Orient - on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Callum Marshall (Huddersfield Town, on loan from West Ham United), Lee Bonis (ADO Den Haag), Dale Taylor (Wigan Athletic - on loan from Nottingham Forest), Ronan Hale (Ross County).

Image source, Inpho

Ahead of Friday's game with Switzerland, Northern Ireland's record goal-scorer David Healy spoke to BBC Sport NI about the game.

The Linfield manager will be part of the BBC pundit team for the match, which you can watch live on BBC Two NI and BBC iPlayer from 7pm on Friday.

Healy on Northern Ireland's ambitions:

"I love Northern Ireland football and I want to see it thrive. We have, as a nation and as a country have had so many sports people, Olympian champions, boxing champions, golf champions.

"We've punched well above our weight as a country and the country wants a strong Northern Ireland football team.

"They're getting that. They've got the best manager in place, a young athletic, robust squad, and the future is bright.

"I look forward to seeing how that develops over the over the coming seasons."

Healy on the young squad and facing Switzerland:

"It is [an exciting time] when you look at the freshness squad and potentially going into Friday night's game, it's going to be an average age of probably 22, 23.

"ers get behind that when they see young fresh faces coming in, doing their best and giving their all - whether you've come in for your first cap or whether it's a Paddy McNair or George Saville who played more than probably most of the others put together.

"It could have been quite easily for Michael to maybe go chasing a lesser nation over the next couple of friendly games but Michael wants to test himself against good strong nations and fair play for doing that. It'll be a good test for them."

Healy on NI manager Michael O'Neill:

"I've a huge respect [for Michael O'Neill]. My initial stages of learning, coaching, managing, basically was based on and around the relationship we had not only as a player and manager when he initially came in as manager, but more importantly for me, when I stepped away it was more than helpful.

"He's still there at the end of the phone even though he gives me a little bit of stick every now and again, but my respect, and hopefully it's mutual, is very high."

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist

Image source, Press Eye

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill says the "target" for his side is to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, either through the play-offs or winning their group.

O'Neill's side will face Luxembourg, Slovakia and the winner of the Nations League play-off between and Italy when qualifying begins in September.

The winner of Group A will automatically qualify for the finals in the USA, Mexico and Canada, while the runner-up will go into a play-off.

There is a chance Northern Ireland could still qualify for a play-off by finishing outside the top two as winners of their Nations League group last year, but would need other teams above them to also qualify.

"We want to be playing for a place in the World Cup, whether that is through a play-off or if we could have an amazing group and overcome one of the big nations," O'Neill said ahead of Friday's friendly with Switzerland.

"It is a huge ask but we have to aspire to do it and give the players that target and goal to try and achieve."

Northern Ireland face the Swiss in Belfast and travel to Sweden on Tuesday. They will also play Iceland and another game against an unannounced opponent in June's double-header.

With that in mind, O'Neill says it is important to make the friendlies "competitive" to try and ensure his side are in the best possible shape for the start of the qualifiers.

"Success for us would be managing to secure a play-off place for the World Cup at the very least and that's what we have to aspire to do.

"There's no point in me saying to the boys it would be great if we finish third because it won't."

Image source, Press Eye

Teenage Northern Ireland defender Ruairi McConville is keen to sample more senior international action after making his debut for Michael O'Neill's side as a late substitute in the 2-0 home Nations League win over Belarus in November.

The 19-year-old has been named in the squad for the forthcoming friendly internationals against Switzerland in Belfast on Friday and Sweden in Stockholm on Tuesday.

He made his professional debut for Brighton in an FA Cup victory over Norwich City in January, before ing the Canaries on a five-and-a-half-year contract at the start of February.

"Crazy really. It's all happened so quickly," reflected McConville in an interview with BBC Sport NI on the last six months.

"It all started probably from making my debut here [for NI against Belarus in November] and since then things have changed and it's only been positive for me thankfully.

"It's been down to a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication. Once you get that first feeling [of international football] you want to keep it going and build on it."

The former NI U19 captain is already enjoying life at Carrow Road despite having been at the Championship club for less than two months.

"I've loved every single minute of it. It's a change of surroundings, environment, it's been great and everyone has made me feel very welcome.

"It's madness, even after leaving Brighton it's crazy how quick the time has gone. It's important just for me to live in the moment and enjoy what I'm doing and I am very grateful for the position that I'm in."

The former Linfield player hopes to sample some more international match time over the next week and is encouraged by the opportunities that have been afforded to young players by NI boss O'Neill.

"It's so encouraging that the opportunity is there to play with boys that you've known nearly your whole life. It's a great feeling and hopefully it will continue for many years to come," added McConville.

Image source, Getty Images

Northern Ireland's Conor Hazard says the goalkeepers in Michael O'Neill's squad are "all improving each other" as they contend for selection for their matches with Switzerland and Sweden.

The Plymouth Argyle stopper has been number one choice for the Championship club this season and impressed against Premier League opponents Liverpool and Manchester City during the Pilgrims' FA Cup run.

The 27-year-old has had to be patient throughout his international career, winning just eight caps since his debut against Costa Rica in 2018.

With 48-times capped Bailey Peacock-Farrell left out of the squad for the two friendlies, and Pierce Charles not featuring regularly for Sheffield Wednesday, Hazard will be hopeful of adding to his international appearances.

Bolton's Luke Southwood is also in the group for the forthcoming double-header.

"At international level you're always going to be performing against the best and luckily we have three or four top goalkeepers in Northern Ireland at the moment and we're all here to try and get that number one spot," the former Celtic goalkeeper told BBC Sport NI.

"It's been an up and down season for me, getting injured at the start of the season and after coming back fit we've had a number of huge fixtures that I've been involved in."

Plymouth defeated Liverpool 1-0 in the fourth round of the FA Cup but lost 3-0 to Man City in round five.

"I'm always delighted to be back playing and performing. As a professional athlete you want to test yourself against the best and we were doing that against Liverpool and City.

"It's something I want to do for the rest of my career."

Hazard says the squad are looking forward to testing themselves against quality opposition in the form of the Swiss and the Swedes over the coming week as preparation for their World Cup qualifiers which kick off in September.

"We're all very motivated and we all can see the talent we have in the group and the hard working group we have.

"We're striving towards something special. Not many people get to perform in the World Cup qualifiers and it's definitely our aim to qualify.

"This is a team in the top 20 in the world coming on Friday and we know what they're going to bring. But we also know what we can do and what we believe in so we're looking forward to testing ourselves."