""You need players to cover and a lot of these bigger nations can replace a Premier League player with a Premier League player. We don't have that depth in our squad at this minute in time. "If you're thinking of covering those four games, you're probably going to pick a 30-man squad. I would probably not have anyone to leave out or very few people to leave out.""
""If you offered me the chance, I would take international football back to Wednesday nights and you only play one game. I think that suits Northern Ireland better, I genuinely do,""
Northern Ireland will complete their 2026 World Cup qualifying Group A fixtures within less than 11 weeks, with future schedules becoming even more condensed after merging September and October windows into one four-game slot in 2026. Smaller nations typically have squads of around 35–40 players and lack the depth to rotate effectively across four-game international windows. Larger countries can replace top-league players with equivalent options, while smaller teams may need to select 30-player squads with few omissions. Expanded tournament formats increase qualification places, but shorter, more frequent windows would better suit smaller teams' capacities.
Read at www.bbc.com
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