Michael O’Neill says he will not focus Northern Ireland’s gameplan around stopping Azerbaijan debutant Richard Almeida on Saturday.
Azeris boss Robert Prosinecki could unleash Brazilian-born Qarabag playmaker Almeida for the first time in the World Cup Group C Qualifier after his naturalisation to represent his adopted country was approved by FIFA last week under the five-year residency rule.
There is plenty of buzz about Almeida’s expected bow at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium among the locals, but O’Neill said his experienced midfield trio of Steven Davis, Oliver Norwood and Chris Brunt have played against great players plenty of times in England.
“Regarding Richard Almeida, we have watched him play for his club, we know this will be his first game for Azerbaijan and we respect his quality as a player,” O’Neill said.
“But tomorrow night he will play against three midfield players who play in the English Premier League so they play against Brazilians, Argentinians, Spanish, Italians. I think the best Brazilians don’t always play in Azerbaijan.”
Northern Ireland beat then-unbeaten Azerbaijan 4-0 in Belfast only seven months ago in the qualification campaign. O’Neill’s team have 10 points and are second in Group C going into the match, live on Sky Sports 4, and are three points ahead of their hosts in fourth place.
That scenario in the group is why O’Neill perceives Saturday’s contest as one which has more riding on it for Azerbaijan.
“I’m confident that having looked back at the game in Belfast, we certainly know the areas where we can exploit,” the Northern Ireland boss said. “We scored four very good goals against Azerbaijan in Belfast against a team that hadn’t been beaten. We come into this game in a good place, the team is in a good place.
“This is a bigger game for Azerbaijan, obviously they have lost the last two and conceded eight goals in doing so. In many ways, I feel it’s a bigger game for them and it’s an opportunity for us to cement our position in second place in the group.”
