Euro 2024 qualifier: San Marino vs Northern Ireland predicted score, key stats and suggested bets
- Matty Briggs
- 21 March 2023
Northern Ireland travel to San Marino for a Euro 2024 qualifier on Thursday night, with Michael O'Neill's men expected to secure a comfortable win. Check out our predicted score and suggested bets.
Date, KO time and TV coverage
Euro 2024 qualifier, Group H, Thursday, March 23, Kick-off 7.45pm, live on Viaplay Sports 1
Predicted score
San Marino 0-4 Northern Ireland
Suggested bets
San Marino vs Northern Ireland, first-half goals over 2.5
Northern Ireland to win both halves
Key stats
San Marino have never scored against Northern Ireland in four past meetings
Northern Ireland have scored 14 goals in four games against the minnows
San Marino have scored just once in 15 games
Northern Ireland have won just three times in 13 games
Previous meetings
WC: San Marino 0-3 Northern Ireland, September 2017
WC: Northern Ireland 4-0 San Marino, October 2016
WC: San Marino 0-3 Northern Ireland, February 2009
WC: Northern Ireland 4-0 San Marino, October 2008
Team news
Experienced trio Jonny Evans, Steven Davies and Corry Evans are all missing through injury.
Stuart Dallas is also still sidelined. Paddy McNair is set to skipper the side. Shayne Lavery and Ali McCann are also missing.
Isaac Price, Eoin Toal, Sean Goss and Cameron McGeehan are expected to win their first caps.
Recent form
Northern Ireland lost 3-1 to Greece last time out
Northern Ireland beat Kosovo 2-1 at home in September
San Marino drew 1-1 with St Lucia before losing 1-0 to the same team in a friendly double header in November
What has been said?
Michael O'Neill on his return to the hot-seat: "You're a one-man band as an international manager. I don't have full-time staff that work with me but I am working very closely with Aaron [Hughes] in his role as [the IFA's] technical director.
"The thing is I know how to do the job. The first time I didn't and had to learn on the job. I know a lot of managers who have found it very difficult stepping into international football, knowing how to use their down time and how to put as much of your time to good use.
"Having done the job for eight years, hopefully I'm equipped to slide back into it and hit the ground running. I don't think there are any drastic curveballs that are going to catch me out,"
Verdict
There are no easy games in international football, apart from San Marino home and away!
The republic have never won a competitive game and have just a 1-0 friendly win against Liechtenstein in 2004 as their sole victory.
The record books also show they did beat Bellaria Igea 2-0 in a 'hybrid friendly' in 2014 - the equivalent of the Dog and Duck winning on the road against the Red Lion.
They are 211th and bottom of the FIFA world rankings and really should be made to pre-qualify for the European Championship and World Cup qualifiers.
They have scored just once in 15 games and face a Northern Ireland side back under the stewardship of Michael O'Neill. He was reappointed in December a little over two and a half years after leaving the post for Stoke.
O'Neill is only the third manager ever to lead the country to a major tournament, when they successfully qualified for UEFA Euro 2016. But they face a major task in adding to that after being drawn with Denmark, Finland and Slovenia in Group H.
Northern Ireland are ranked 59 and were beaten 3-1 by Greece in the Nations League in September. But Greece, ranked 51st in the world, are world's apart from a San Marino side, who are officially the worst team in world football.
Therefore it's no surprise to see the minnows chalked up at 33/1 and anyone getting involved in that needs locking up.
With a much tougher assignment lying in wait against Finland on Sunday, O'Neill will be looking to get off to a flying start. He will have to use a lot of his younger, inexperienced players, though, with a handful of his big names injured.
That should not hold back Ireland too much and the chance to impress and cement a place in the team might be the spark the likes of Conor McMenamin need.
Uncapped quartet Isaac Price, Eoin Toal, Sean Goss and Cameron McGeehan will be champing at the bit and NI could get the hard work done in the first half in Serravalle.
