Who NI are up against

Austria

World ranking: 26th Manager: Franco Foda Captain: Julian Baumgartlinger

Man to watch: Marko Arnautovic (striker, Shanghai SIPG)

Form guide: L-W-W-W-D

Verdict: Northern Ireland don’t match up well against Austria having not won against them in their last four meetings and will have painful memories of facing them in the last Nations League. With names like Marko Arnautovic and David Alaba in their ranks, they will rightly be favourites to win this group.

Norway

World ranking: 44th

Manager: Lars Lagerback

Captain: Stefan Johansen

Man to watch: Erling Haaland (striker, Borussia Dortmund)

Form guide: W-W-D-D-D

Verdict: The ‘underdogs’, Norway will hope to cause a bloody nose to one of their higher-ranked opponents, knowing that with teen sensation Erling Haaland and Bournemouth ace Josh King up front, they have plenty of firepower to inflict damage. Northern Ireland faced them twice in World Cup qualifiers in 2017, winning in Belfast but losing in Oslo.

Romania

World ranking: 37th

Manager: Mirel Radoi

Captain: Vlad Chiriches

Man to watch: George Puscas (striker,

Reading)

Form guide: L-L-D-W-W

Verdict: A team on the decline, Romania haven’t defeated a side inside the world’s top 130 since beating Montenegro in November 2018. They do have Rangers playmaker Ianis Hagi in their squad, however, while Ajax midfielder Razvan Marin is a threat. Northern Ireland last met them in the Euro 2016 qualifiers, losing in Bucharest and drawing in Belfast.