SMITH: I’LL NAIL DOWN A PLACE
NORTHERN IRELAND’S Michael Smith is desperate to make it to the Euros after agonisingly missing out four years ago.
Smith (above) won his first cap just before the tournament in March, only to be denied a place in Michael O’Neill’s squad for the finals.
The Hearts right-back has since become an integral part of O’Neill’s squad, scoring a stunning goal in their 6-1 loss to Germany.
He hopes to make the play-offs in March, with the team on course for a winner-takesall game against the Republic of Ireland.
“It’s a massive incentive,” he said. “Also I missed out on the Euro 2016 squad, so I’ll be busting a gut to get there. I want to play in March, that’s my objective now because it would be fantastic to reach the finals.”
Smith, 31, went to France with some mates as a fan and says it was heartbreaking missing out. “I was gutted not to make the squad,” said the former Peterborough man.
“It would be nice to play in games like that, so I’m going to do all I can to get there.”
Northern Ireland face Bosnia away on March 26 before either the Republic or Slovakia in the final five days later.
And Smith says it’s a huge boost that O’Neill (above) will be in charge, after Stoke agreed to their manager remaining for the play-offs.
“Tactically, Michael is a great coach and he’s still going to be with us in March, which is a real plus,” he said.
HOW PLAY-OFFS WORK
England, France, Russia, Belgium, Italy, Ukraine, Poland, Spain, Czech Republic, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Portugal Switzerland, Denmark, Wales
PATH A Iceland, Bulgaria/Israel/ Hungary/Romania* Fixtures to be decided PATH B Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Rep of Ireland, Northern Ireland. Fixtures: Bosnia v Northern Ireland; Slovakia v Republic of Ireland.
PATH C Scotland, Norway, Serbia, Bulgaria/Israel/Hungary/Romania* Fixtures: Scotland v Bulgaria or Israel or Hungary or Romania; Norway v Serbia.
PATH D Georgia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Belarus. Fixtures: Georgia v Belarus; North Macedonia v Kosovo.
The draw for the play-offs is tomorrow at 11am. The 16 teams will be split into four groups of four teams: Path A, Path B, Path C and Path D. Each team will play a single-leg semi-final on March 26 with the winners meeting in their Path final on March 31. The top UEFAranked team in each path will play, at home, the lowestranked. The second-ranked will play, at home, against the third-ranked. Tomorrow’s draw is only to determine who will play at home in each path’s final. The four path winners will then be added to the 20 automatic qualifiers for the finals.