Northern Ireland: Fresh faces to managerial mayhem – NI’s qualifying campaign

Northern Ireland will reflect on several goals conceded during the campaign that might have been avoidable.

They are likely to face opposition of a similar calibre as Switzerland in the autumn play-offs when they aim to qualify for their first World Cup finals at the sixth attempt.

A goalkeeping error by Lauren Perry which gifted Turkey the winning goal in Lurgan will be a moment that will look back on, as will the two goals conceded at home against group winners Switzerland.

A challenge for McArdle will be ensuring those mistakes are reduced before the upcoming play-off as the opposition will be higher-ranked and likely make NI pay for their mistakes.

Despite acknowledging his side have made errors, the Northern Ireland boss believes they will use them to their advantage during the play-off.

“We’re very ambitious, we’re not just going into the play-offs to take part, we’re going in there to try and win and try and qualify for the World Cup,” he said.

“We’ve got a strong belief, there’s been mistakes out there and there’s been opportunities to learn.

“We’ll use that to move forward and strengthen and then, as a result, hopefully that attracts future talent as well both within the pathway but also those that are eligible.”