Having suffered play-off heartache in their bid to reach World Cup 2018, Michael O’Neill’s side are seeking a positive start in the Nations League Northern Ireland will open their UEFA Nations League campaign and take a first step down the road towards Euro 2020 when they play host to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Michael O’Neill’s side suffered play-off heartache in their bid to reach World Cup 2018, with Switzerland edging them out. They did, however, grace the European Championship finals in 2016, with a positive showing seeing them reach the last-16 stage. Replicating those efforts is now the target, with Bosnia providing the first obstacle for them to overcome at Windsor Park on Saturday. Game Northern Ireland vs Bosnia-Herzegovina Date Saturday, September 8 Time 2:00pm BST / 9:00am ET TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch In the United States (US) the game will be available to watch live on ESPNews and streamed online via ESPN+. US TV channel Online stream ESPNews ESPN+ The game can be watched live on television in the United Kingdom (UK) via Sky Sports Football and can be streamed live online using Sky Go. UK TV channel Online stream Sky Sports Football Sky Go Squads & Team News Position Northern Ireland squad Goalkeepers McGovern, Carson, Peacock-Farrell Defenders Cathcart, J. Evans, Hughes, McAuley, C. McLaughlin, McNair, Smith, Lewis Midfielders Davis, McGinn, Dallas, C. Evans, Ferguson, Saville, Jones, Norwood, Whyte Forwards Lafferty, Boyce, Magennis, Grigg, Washington, Ward Gavin Whyte has been promoted out of the U21 squad and into the senior ranks for the first time, with the Oxford United winger having netted three times in five outings at club level this season. Gareth McAuley, who has linked up with Steven Gerrard’s Rangers, is set to win his 80th cap while Steven Davis will skipper the side. Potential Northern Ireland XI: McGovern; McLaughlin, Cathcart, McAuley, J. Evans; McNair, Davis, Norwood, Ferguson, Dallas; Lafferty. Position Bosnia-Herzegovina squad Goalkeepers Sehic, Piric, Kjosevski Defenders Sunjic, Zukanovic, Todorovic, Civic, Vranjes, Bicakcic, Nastic Midfielders Pjanic, Visca, Besic, Duljevic, Cimirot, Prcic, Saric, Zakaric, Krunic, Milosevic Forwards Dzeko, Kodro, Bajic Bournemouth goalkeeper Asmir Begovic has been left out of the Bosnia squad, handing BB Erzurumspor shot-stopper Ibrahim Sehic an opportunity to impress between the sticks. Juventus star Miralem Pjanic will look to pull the strings in midfield, helping to carve open opportunities for Roma striker – and his country’s all-time leading goalscorer – Edin Dzeko. Potential Bosnia-Herzegovina XI: Sehic; Todorovic, Zukanovic, Sunjic, Civic; Cimirot, Besic; Visca, Pjanic, Duljevic; Dzeko. Betting & Match Odds There is little to choose between the two sides, with bet365 making Bosnia slight favourites at 7/4. Northern Ireland are priced at 21/10 to emerge victorious, with a draw available at 2/1. Click here to see more offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more. Match Preview Northern Ireland and Bosnia-Herzegovina are competing in Group 3 within League B of the UEFA Nations League, with Austria set to provide their other opposition. O’Neill’s side have not been in the best of form since seeing their World Cup dreams dashed, with their last two outings delivering no goals. They were held to a goalless draw by Panama back in May before going down 3-0 to Costa Rica in June. A notable 2-1 victory was secured over Asian Games gold medallists South Korea prior to the aforementioned outings, but struggles in the final third have offered cause for concern. Article continues below Another tight affair could be in store at Windsor Park, with Bosnia having conceded just twice in their last six fixtures. Former Barcelona and Real Madrid star Robert Prosinecki is now at the helm, with the Croatian having inherited the reins on the back of a disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign. He has overseen two wins, three draws and one defeat to date, with that solitary reversal coming against Mexico in February.<doc-sep>Northern Ireland's Nations League campaign got off to a disappointing start as they lost 2-1 to Bosnia and Herzegovina despite dominating the match. Haris Duljevic opened the scoring in the 37th minute,, and Elvis Saric capitalised on a deffensive mix-up between Craig Cathcart and Bailey Peacock-Farrell to effectively seal it in the 64th minute. Will Grigg scored a late consolation, but it should have been much more for Michael O'Neill's side. Northern Ireland are in Group B 3 and face Bosnia & and Herzegovina and Austria over home and away ties. Here's how the game unfolded at Windsor Park. Teams N Ireland: Peacock-Farrell, McLaughlin, Lewis, J. Evans, Saville, McGinn, Davis, Lafferty, Dallas, Norwood, Cathcart. Bosnia: Sehic, Civic, Besic, Visca, Duljevic, Pjanic, Dzeko, Gojko, Cimirot, Sunjic, Zukamovic, Saric.<doc-sep>Northern Ireland were utterly dominant for long spells but somehow contrived to lose their Nations League opener through a combination of bad luck, poor finishing and the concession of two sloppy goals<doc-sep>
Michael O'Neill thought Northern Ireland should have been awarded a "clear" penalty as were beaten 2-1 at home by Bosnia and Herzegovina in their UEFA Nations League opener on Saturday. Northern Ireland dominated the Group B3 game at Windsor Park but were made to pay for not taking their chances. They could have had a penalty inside the opening minute when George Saville appeared to be tripped in the box, but the referee did not point to the spot. Northern Ireland 1-2 Bosnia "We should have had a penalty early in the game, it's pretty clear," O'Neill told Sky Sports. "Maybe it's early in the game so it's difficult to give. If we had scored the penalty, if it was given, then it would have put a different slant on the game." Saville agreed with O'Neill's view on the penalty, but said it was not the defining factor in the game. 3:39 Highlights: Northern Ireland 1-2 Bosnia "There was contact there and I think it is a penalty, that changes the game, but we have to take chances and we paid the price a bit. We can't blame it [defeat] on that decision. We shot ourselves in the foot today. "It was massively disappointing for us, considering we controlled the game for most of 90 minutes. It was two sloppy errors from us, which we paid for." Bosnia scored twice in each half and the hosts only managed to grab a late consolation in injury-time through Will Grigg. Live International Football O'Neill added: "I was delighted with the performance. I thought we dominated the game. "It was a great performance in the first half, then a disappointing goal to concede when we should have stopped the cross. Second half we were well on top and then the second goal was disappointing as well. "The spirit was fantastic, they kept going to the final whistle, got a goal back and could have got ourselves level. All in all, there were a lot more positives and negatives. "The only real thing we could have done a bit better was our final ball and final attempt at goal…but those are all things we can work on." Watch the Nations League live on Sky and get two football channels for one great price. Get Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football in HD - now £18 a month.