In years gone by, the final whistle would have blown in Northern Ireland's Nations League game with Hungary and the players would have been heading back to their clubs. Instead, Michael O'Neill and his squad are back on the road to Slovakia to face Ukraine in the extended international window. For 2026, the September and October breaks have been amalgamated into one 16-day window, with four fixtures instead of two.
Northern Ireland have made a strong start to the campaign with four points from two matches, but it isn't without its challenges. But how does it impact a nation like Northern Ireland, who do not have the squad depth or resources of some of Europe's heavy hitters? Szoboszlai's Hungary latest to draw blank in Belfast O'Neill 'positive' as NI maintain unbeaten start For Northern Ireland in particular, the schedule has been gruelling.
Their Nations League campaign started with a 5,000-mile round trip to Georgia, where Shea Charles' 99th-minute winner snatched a late victory. For that game, O'Neill, his staff and players had stayed in the BST time zone instead of trying to adapt to the three-hour time difference. With a short turnaround before Monday's game against Hungary - their first home match in 315 days - the squad flew back home overnight to arrive back in Belfast on Saturday morning.
While Northern Ireland kept Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai quiet - as they did with Paris St-Germain star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in Tbilisi - the players looked tired as the game progressed. "Tiredness will be a big factor," O'Neill said. "Logistics are a big factor as well in terms of your travel and how that works." One other factor for smaller nations is injuries and suspensions.
Northern Ireland were already without key players such as Conor Bradley and Ali McCann before Sunderland defender Daniel Ballard injured his hamstring in Georgia, ruling him out of the rest of the window. Unlike Germany boss Jurgen Klopp, who has the luxury of effectively selecting two different squads, O'Neill has to work with a smaller playing pool. Of course, injuries are part of the game and can happen at any moment, but the condensed window only magnifies the issue.
"It's a massive factor in the game and if you look at some players who have been injured in the first game, like Dan, they are now out completely," O'Neill said. "Other countries have had that as well, but you can miss four games of a six-game tournament." Another factor to consider is an increase in yellow cards, with tired legs leading to a higher chance of picking up a second booking, which would lead to a suspension. After two matches, seven Northern Ireland players are one card away from missing a match, and O'Neill admitted he found some of the yellows handed out to his side as "disappointing".
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