It’s 1st against 2nd in World Cup qualification Group A on Friday night as Northern Ireland take on Slovakia at Windsor Park, writes JOE CITRONE.
After two matches, Northern Ireland have one win and one defeat to their name after a 3-1 victory over Luxembourg in their opening qualifying match was followed up with a defeat to Germany by the same scoreline.
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Northern Ireland v Slovakia
FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier
19:45 BBC One NI / BBC Two / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport Website
LAST FIVE STATS
HEAD-TO-HEAD
NOV 2020 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Northern Ireland 1-2 Slovakia
JUN 2016 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Slovakia 0-0 Northern Ireland
SEP 2009 FIFA WORLD CUP Northern Ireland 0-2 Slovakia
SEP 2008 FIFA WORLD CUP Slovakia 2-1 Northern Ireland
MAR 1998 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Northern Ireland 1-0 Slovakia
NORTHERN IRELAND
SEP 2025 FIFA WORLD CUP Germany 3-1 Northern Ireland
SEP 2025 FIFA WORLD CUP Luxembourg 1-3 Northern Ireland
JUN 2025 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Northern Ireland 1-0 Iceland
JUN 2025 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Denmark 2-1 Northern Ireland
MAR 2025 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Sweden 5-1 Northern Ireland
SLOVAKIA
SEP 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Luxembourg 0-1 Slovakia
SEP 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Slovakia 2-0 Germany
JUN 2025 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Israel 1-0 Slovakia
JUN 2025 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Greece 4-1 Slovakia
MAR 2025 NATIONS LEAGUE Slovenia 1-0 Slovakia
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Slovakia find themselves at the top of the group after they upset Germany in their opening match and then defeated Luxembourg in the second game of their World Cup qualifying campaign.
When Slovakia last visited Northern Ireland, they ended the hosts’ hopes of reaching Euro 2020. This time, Michael O’Neill’s side will be determined to avoid a repeat and boost their chances of reaching the 2026 World Cup in the process.
Given that Slovakia only just edged past minnows Luxembourg in their most recent match, I think Northern Ireland have a great chance of getting a result here, and that’s why I am backing them to win at 6/4 with starsports.bet.
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