NI starting to know how it feels to win - O'Neill

Three points, 2 goals and 1 cleanable sheet.

Northern Ireland's Nations League run got disconnected to the cleanable commencement against Luxembourg astatine Windsor Park.

The Nations League is simply a contention that has not been benignant to Northern Ireland successful the past. In fact, Thursday's triumph was lone their 2nd successful 17 matches.

But Michael O'Neill's young squad are continuing to turn and develop, with the comfy triumph a 4th triumph successful six matches.

After Callum Marshall and Dion Charles spurned chances from acceptable pieces, Luxembourg failed to woody with a agelong propulsion and that allowed Paddy McNair to poke home.

Better was to travel 5 minutes aboriginal erstwhile Daniel Ballard diverted location George Saville's debased free-kick.

For the the 2nd goal, it was a lawsuit of signifier makes perfect.

"We had bully power of the crippled and capitalised connected acceptable pieces," O'Neill said.

"We spent a bully hr this greeting successful the investigation country and connected the transportation with the players [working connected acceptable pieces]. You don't ever get that time.

"It's thing we request to amended connected and we did show that tonight."

Northern Ireland had chances to widen their pb successful Belfast, but O'Neill admitted the tempo dropped arsenic legs began to tire. It comes with the quality of youth.

Much has been made of O'Neill's Northern Ireland 2.0, which has saw a reliable and experienced radical of players gradually replaced by an breathtaking clump of youngsters, who are earthy but highlighting their imaginable connected the planetary stage.

Liverpool defender Conor Bradley, 21, has often been the focal constituent of the excitement successful the instrumentality base, but Trai Hume, who captained NI connected Thursday astatine the property of 22, Shea Charles and Isaac Price, some 20, are besides into treble figures for caps and amusement that the aboriginal is bright.

"A batch of planetary careers ended successful the past 12 months," helium added.

"You are ne'er going to person a acceptable made squad to enactment successful place, it has to spell done immoderate pain."

The symptom O'Neill is referencing came erstwhile helium stepped backmost into the relation pursuing the departure of Ian Baraclough.

With respective first-team players retired injured, O'Neill had to accelerated way younker into his squad and determination were the inevitable increasing pains arsenic his squad recovered their feet and NI missed retired connected Euro 2024 qualification.

However, the run ended with affirmative shoots with a triumph implicit Denmark and victories implicit Scotland, Andorra and present Luxembourg person followed.

There has besides been a gully with Romania and a decision by Euro 2024 winners Spain successful that time.

"Within those six games we person played teams who we would expect to bushed and besides played teams we person got bully results against arsenic well," said O'Neill, who added the "mood has ever been good" successful the camps since his return.

"We person [momentum]. Confidence is increasing and a batch of these lads came into planetary shot and didn't triumph a batch of games astatine the outset.

"Now they are starting to cognize however it feels to win. You tin spot successful the dressing country what it means to them.

"A batch of them are going to person agelong planetary careers. There are ever periods with Northern Ireland wherever you don't win, and play done immoderate hard times. The champion players person ever had to bash that.

"There is simply a batch of maturation to travel successful the team, there's nary uncertainty astir that.

"We person to support letting them make people themselves and not enactment excessively overmuch unit connected them. Hopefully they volition instrumentality that into games and springiness bully performances."

Now, the situation for Northern Ireland is to proceed their momentum distant to Bulgaria connected Sunday.

The Bulgarians were held to a goalless gully by Belarus successful their opening match, which means if Northern Ireland tin get 3 points successful Plovdiv it puts them successful a beardown presumption successful Group C3.

Winning the radical would unfastened the doorway to a imaginable play-off spot for the 2026 World Cup and O'Neill says his broadside are acceptable to "fully embrace" the campaign.

"It's important. The different crippled was a gully truthful if we spell to Bulgaria and get a effect past we volition beryllium successful a bully position.

"There's a batch to play for. It's a contention that we person had hard results in.

"The timing of the contention has been hard for america and travel astatine transitional periods for our squad.

"We afloat recognize that if we bash good successful it past it has peculiar advantages down the enactment for us, successful presumption of opening up imaginable qualification routes.

"We're taking it arsenic earnestly arsenic immoderate of the different competitions."