Bradley: Only two goals away from the World Cup, no fear of any opponent in the play-offs

6686 Sports reported on November 16 that after losing to Slovakia, Northern Ireland has now confirmed that it will enter the European play-offs through the UEFA Nations League results to compete for the World Cup qualification.

Team captain and defender Bradley, who currently plays for Liverpool, said: "We will definitely not be afraid of any team. I think everything is possible, and there are only two games until the World Cup, so there is no need to be afraid of any team. We have made great progress in the past few competitions. Progress, including the UEFA Nations League and this World Cup preliminaries, I think we just need to work hard to maintain this upward momentum.”

The European play-offs will be divided into four groups for single-elimination matches. Each group will determine the winner after two semi-finals and one finals to obtain a World Cup main draw spot. According to the play-off rules, Northern Ireland, which has entered the play-offs through the UEFA Nations League, will be classified as a fourth-tier team and will have to play as an away team in the semi-finals. Since the current coach O'Neill took office in December 2022, Northern Ireland has only achieved two wins in away games, against San Marino and Luxembourg.

In this regard, Bradley said: "Any away game will be very difficult, but I think the more experience you accumulate, the more you can learn from it, and I hope we can do this. It would be great to reach the play-offs. The game will be difficult, but we are really looking forward to it."