Belarus vs Northern Ireland

Zalaegerszeg’s ZTE Arena is the venue as Belarus and Northern Ireland lock horns in a low-profile UEFA Nations League encounter.

Belarus’ third successive campaign in League C has been off to an inspiring start, with back-to-back clean sheets against Bulgaria (0-0) and Luxembourg (1-0) helping them halt an underwhelming eight-game winless run in the Nations League (D4, L4). Despite being forced to play their home matches in Hungary due to the ongoing conflict around their borders, Belarus can draw confidence from losing just two Nations League fixtures as a designated home team (W4, D2, L2). But it’s worth noting they’ve failed to find the net in both previous outings in this country, casting doubt on their hopes of avenging a three-match losing H2H streak against Northern Ireland. Furthermore, Carlos Alos’ men have drawn a blank in four of their last five ‘home’ matches (W1, D2, L2).

In the meantime, Northern Ireland enjoyed a perfect start to their Group C3 journey as they eased past Luxembourg 2-0 at home in a curtain-raising fixture before slumping to a disappointing 1-0 defeat in Bulgaria. Michael O’Neill’s ultimate goal is to bring Northern Ireland back to League B, where they started their Nations League adventure in 2018, and their flawless H2H record against upcoming rival Belarus bodes well. Indeed, they’ve only faced San Marino more often while winning every duel than the former Soviet republic. However, the Norn Iron would be well-advised not to take anything for granted, especially considering they have yet to win a Nations League fixture away from home (D2, L7)! Moreover, slow starts have seen the visitors trail at halftime on their last three road trips in this competition.