Northern Ireland vs Kazakhstan prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-06-18 18:45.
After seeing a last-gasp equaliser ruled out by VAR on Friday night against Denmark, a frustrated Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill conceded it’ll be “extremely difficult” for his side to qualify for the 2024 UEFA European Championships now. His second stint in charge of the Green and White Army started with a 2-0 win over San Marino in March, but including Friday night’s defeat in Copenhagen, two successive 1-0 losses have left his side second from bottom in Group H.
O’Neill has called upon a young squad in these recent qualifiers and a youthful looking Northern Ireland finished Friday’s game with six players under the age of 21. Rearing them is likely to be a primary focus for him as he looks ahead to future tournaments, yet he’ll still be desperate to get the winning feeling back into the camp with his side now having won just four of their last 16 matches across all competitions (D4, L8).
Kazakhstan may still not yet have qualified for either a Euros or FIFA World Cup finals since joining UEFA in 2002, but there’s growing confidence in their group that 2024 could be the year they break that duck. They bounced back from an opening round 2-1 loss at home to Slovenia by securing a memorable 3-2 win against Denmark, and followed that up with a 3-0 success over San Marino meaning they head into this round joint-top with the Danes in Group H.
The visitors already have the safety net of a guaranteed spot in the play-offs thanks to their performances in the UEFA Nations League, yet they’d surely love to get qualification secured without that lottery. As this clash comes on the road, this will be a big test for Kazakhstan, whose only away win from their last five trips came in that San Marino success, while their two most recent losses both came away to teams ranked lower than Northern Ireland (62) in FIFA’s world rankings.
Players to watch: Forward Dion Charles scored in his final home appearance of the season for Bolton, and netted Northern Ireland’s only two goals from their last three matches. Similarly prolific of late, Askhat Tagybergen finished his domestic season with seven goals in his final nine games with Ordabasy and has netted in the second half in his last two Kazakhstan matches.
Hot stat: Kazakhstan could secure three straight wins while scoring 3+ goals for the first time in their history.