It is a bit like being invited to gig to see the warm-up act but not the headliner, or invited to pre-drinks but not the actual party.
Northern Ireland will not be at the World Cup this summer, but on Monday (20:10 BST) they will face a France side who will be having their farewell send-off in Lille.
Coming off the back of a surprise defeat by Ivory Coast on Thursday, France will be favourites to beat Michael O’Neill’s side and head off to the USA – where they will play Senegal, Iraq and Norway in Group I – in style.
While O’Neill said “it’s nice to be invited” to play one of the World Cup favourites on their send-off, he isn’t intending for his side to roll out the red carpet for the hosts.
“We probably have to be a badly-behaved guest, really,” said O’Neill.
“That’s what we have to aspire to do, in terms of if we can make the game difficult for France, but we haven’t even mentioned that to the players.”
O’Neill, who in May signed a new contract until 2032 amid interest from Blackburn Rovers, said how France decide to send their team off to the USA is “not something we pay too much attention to”.
“It’s more about the level of the opposition, the quality that they have and an opportunity for us to measure ourselves, both individually and collectively as a team, is the most important thing for us,” he added.
“France are the home nation, so however they choose to celebrate or give their team a send-off, as they rightly should do, is down to themselves.”
In their previous friendly with Guinea on Thursday, O’Neill fielded the youngest Northern Ireland team since World War Two with an average of 22.1.
While that will likely rise against France if the likes of Sunderland defender Trai Hume and Ethan Galbraith return to the starting team, it will still be a young squad with 75% of the players available aged 24 or younger.
“The most important thing is to see if your team are overawed by the situation,” O’Neill said.
“I think the hardest thing for any player as you step through the levels of the game is having the self-belief in yourself that you can deal with the game at this level, against players of this level, and that’s what these games give us.”
Aside from teenagers Ceadach O’Neill, Braiden Graham and Kieran Morrison – who all play for Premier League clubs but have yet to break into their respective senior sides – only Hume and Justin Devenny play in the top flight.
“The opportunity for those players who play outside the Premier League to test themselves at this level of the game doesn’t come around very often,” O’Neill said.
“It doesn’t come through the domestic game, but they get the opportunity to show that they can do that.
“They get the chance to be able to demonstrate that they can play the game at the top level, they can handle the game at the top level, but I think the only way to do that is to be exposed to it.”
‘We’re not an easy team to play against’
In the past two years, Northern Ireland have played Spain, Germany and Italy. While Spain, who went on to win Euro 2024 a month after facing O’Neill’s side, were runaway winners, the matches with the Germans and Italians were more competitive affairs – even if both did end in defeat.
“I think the games that we’ve had against Spain, obviously in 2024 they went on and won the competition, so that may be a good omen for France,” he added.
“Competitively we played against Italy and Germany for qualification for World Cup 26 and on those occasions the game was in the balance.
“That’s something that we should be proud of as a small nation that we’re not an easy team to play against, and we pride ourselves very much on that.”
The 56-year-old added that he would not be afraid to use teenagers O’Neill, Morrison and Graham against the 2018 World Cup winners.
“What have we got to lose by putting a young player on the pitch in this situation? That wouldn’t be a factor. Their age is not a factor for me,” he said.
“Everyone that’s picked here as part of our squad has been picked with the intention that they’re ready and available to come on the pitch if we need them.”
For captain Hume, who has risen up the football pyramid with Sunderland after joining from Irish Premiership side Linfield, he understands the growth from playing on the biggest stage.
“I think you just get used to the level and the noise and the pressure that it brings,” said Hume, who is one of the most experienced players in the squad despite being 24.
“You just learn to relish and enjoy it. I think for the ones that haven’t been exposed to that type of stadium and that type of atmosphere, what I would say to them is just be excited about it and go out and show what you can do.”
On Thursday, Northern Ireland had to grind out a win after Tom Atcheson, who scored the decisive goal, was then sent off and will miss Monday’s game.
“I have no concerns about the character of my team at all,” O’Neill said.
“I never have, but there’s other things in our team that we need to develop as well.
“Character can only take us so far, so that’s something that I think exposure to these games can only benefit us, to allow us to see the areas individually and also as a team where we need to aspire to get to.”
On the flip side, France were stunned by Ivory Coast in Nantes but O’Neill doesn’t believe that performance will have any impact on Monday’s match in Lille.
With an extra game at the expanded finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico, O’Neill also expects as many players as possible to get many minutes throughout the game.
“They’ve got to manage a tournament where there’s an extra game. Probably more than ever in this tournament that lies ahead for them, the conditions will mean that you’ll probably have to use your squad to the maximum,” he said.
“I don’t think the game on Thursday night will have any bearing in terms of how the game goes tomorrow night.”
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