Michael O'Neill's Northern Ireland will travel to Spain to face Guinea in the first of two friendlies scheduled for this month. Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming match.
How to watch:
The match will be available on BBC Two Northern Ireland, BBC iPlayer and BBC's website in the U.K. The match You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time: Thursday, June 4, 5 p.m. BST (12 p.m. ET)
Venue: Estadio Ciudad de La LÃnea, Cadiz
Referee: Seth Galia
Team News
Northern Ireland
No injury concerns for Northern Ireland as manager O'Neill said the the whole squad is available for training.
Talking Points
O'Neill eye positive start after signing new contract
After manager Michael O'Neill signed a new long term contract last month, he will look to begin the new cycle on a positive note as they face Guinea in the first of two friendlies scheduled this month.
Northern Ireland will also play against the mighty France in Lille on June 8 as they start their preparations for the Nations League, which begins in September. The fact that O'Neill decided to stay with the national team has been welcomed by the players. He was in charge of Blackburn Rovers on an interim basis and guided them to safety in the Championship. Blackburn wanted him to give the job on a permanent basis. but O'Neill decided to continue with the national team.
With a young and talented team at his disposal, O'Neill will be keen to make it count against Guinea and prove to be tough opponents for France.
Michael O'Niell's future is resolved
Isaac Price admitted the Northern Ireland players were worried that Michael O'Neill was ready to leave his role as boss this summer before he recommitted to the national team.
O'Neill's new deal came after he turned down an offer to stay on at Blackburn, having kept Rovers in the Championship while juggling both roles for the final three months of the season.
The 56-year-old said he had "positive talks" with the Ewood Park club before ultimately turning them down and signing a new four-year contract with Northern Ireland last week.
"He went to Blackburn and did a job for them there and we were probably a little bit nervous that maybe he would have taken a club role full-time," Price said. "But I think everyone's buzzing.
"The lads, we all love playing for him. For me, he's probably been the main manager that I've had since I started playing first-team football that has sort of trusted me.
"He threw me in when I was not playing any real senior games at club level."
Price was one of several Northern Ireland players O'Neill came up against during his short stint in the Championship relegation scrap.
Ultimately they both survived, with West Brom finishing 21st, four points clear of the drop and one behind 20th-placed Blackburn.
Just a week after the last international break, O'Neill and Price went head-to-head on Easter Monday when Blackburn and West Brom drew 0-0 at Ewood Park.
Price said with a laugh: "I gave him a quick text before the game, saying 'You wouldn't let us just win this one, would you'?
"He said, 'No, unfortunately not'.
"It's obviously a little bit weird. You go from him being your national team manager to then playing against him the following week and we were both in difficult positions.
"But I think Michael showed what sort of manager he is and how good he is to keep them safe. He did a great job for them."
Since returning to Northern Ireland for his second stint as manager in 2022, O'Neill has moulded a young squad, and Price believes the promise in this group was key to persuading him to stay.
"He's got a good group of players, they are all young," Price said. "I think he's probably excited to keep working with us.
"I've been playing here three years now and I think we're only getting better, the players are only getting better and I think it's exciting for him."
This week Northern Ireland face Guinea in a friendly on Thursday before heading to Lille to take on World Cup-bound France on Monday.
Northern Ireland hoped to be flying to North America themselves but their World Cup hopes were ended in a 2-0 qualifying play-off defeat to Italy in March.
"After March there was a real low in the squad," Price said. "It's tough when you have that belief and I think the squad definitely did have the belief that we could win those two games.
"The two games now, there's nothing better for us. I think you just want to get back away and start playing again and start building again."
Press Association contributed to this report.
