Northern Ireland vs New Zealand
There are few football games that spark the passion of football fans like international competition. Players relish the opportunity to don their nation’s flag on their chest and play for their country’s glory. Fans also love the sights of their players dominating on the football pitch.
Northern Irish football betting fans are blessed with another chance to showcase their love for their nation by facing off against New Zealand at Windsor Park. This friendly will be their tune-up to the all-important qualifying match against Azerbaijan.
The All Whites are the obvious underdogs in this match. The Norn Iron are ahead of the visitors by 86 spots in the FIFA rankings. Also, Northern Ireland face a lot of superior competition, compared to the Oceania minnows the visitors face on the reg. Bookies even give the hosts a -1.00 Asian Handicap for 2.16 odds.
What makes the game interesting, however, is the cast of players that will step on the pitch. NI manager Michael O’Neill will have to contend without several of his key players: Craig Cathcart won’t be risked for a friendly, while key attackers Conor Washington and Jamie Ward will be unavailable. Gareth McAuley will not be stepping on the pitch as well.
While they still have a strong core of players in Kyle Lafferty, Steven Davis, Matthew Lund, and Chris Brunt, they will be facing the Kiwis with a much weaker side. NI fans will be worried about scoring goals without their main cannons. This is also a perfect opportunity for Anthony Hudson to build some confidence in his side.
The New Zealand boss also has European players in his side to compete with their hosts. Stefan Marinovic is seeing regular action in Germany’s Regionaliga, Tommy Smith is a solid defender for Ipswich Town, and Chris Wood is coming off a stellar season that saw him strike 27 goals for Leeds. He can also expect quality plays from Marco Rojas, Shane Smeltz, and Michael Boxall.
Former All White Noel Barkley hopes that the team will be able to perform well in front of Northern Ireland fans and produce a satisfying result ahead of the FIFA Confederations Cup. If you are an All White fan and share his sentiments, it’s best to punt for New Zealand +0.75 @ 2.07. You can count that the All Whites will do their utmost for your country.
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
