RISING PRICES
Isaac backing young guns to soar
ISAAC PRICE believes qualifying for the 2026 World Cup is a realistic target for Northern Ireland’s young guns.
Michael O’neill is moulding a newlook side built around the likes of Price, Conor Bradley, Shea Charles and Trai Hume, and took encouragement from Friday’s 1-1 draw in a friendly away to Romania.
That came five months after an otherwise poor Euro 2024 qualifying campaign ended with a 2-0 home win over Denmark.
The youthful starting line-up named in Bucharest felt like a significant one as O’neill challenged his crop of emerging players to make their mark.
Fans will be hoping for more of the same against Scotland in Glasgow tomorrow night.
Asked if Northern Ireland could reach the 2026 World Cup, which is being expanded to 48 teams, Price said: “I think it’s very realistic.
“We’ve got a lot of good young players coming through, and even Under21s who are playing at a good level.
“Dale Taylor has gone with the 21s this month and he’s playing for Wycombe every week and doing well.
“We’ve got players here playing in the Championship and Conor playing in the Premier League and the Europa League.
“We’ve got a lot of good young players coming through and I think the next World Cup can definitely be one we aim for.”
Midfielder Price earned his 10th cap in Bucharest, and linked up well with Bradley, Hume and Charles in a promising combination down the right-hand side.
It was another demonstration of the progress Price, 20, has made since deciding to leave boyhood club Everton last summer and move to Belgium to join Standard Liege.
He said: “When I was in the Under21s I probably had a bit more freedom to play it as you see it – there’s not as much structure.
“But in a first-team environment it’s very structured, you’re going out to win games, you want to win games and hopefully put yourself up in the league table, in our case to get into Europe next season.
“I feel I’ve developed more. Physically, I still need to get stronger, faster.
“The league over there is very tough, and when you come into international football you start playing against the best players from any country.”