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Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Playoff Semi-Finals Route B
Oct 8, 2020 at 7.45pm UK
Stadion Bilino Polje
Northern Ireland national football team

Bosnia H'vina
1 - 1
N. Ireland

Krunic (13')
Hadziahmetovic (19'), Kolasinac (47'), Pjanic (100')
FT
(aet)
McGinn (53')
Davis (108')
N. Ireland win 4-3 on penalties

Jonny Evans expected to be fit for Northern Ireland playoff clash

Jonny Evans expected to be fit for Northern Ireland playoff clash
© Reuters
Evans took a knock in Leicester's Premier League defeat to West Ham on Sunday.

Jonny Evans is expected to be fit for Northern Ireland's crunch Euro 2020 qualifying play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday, manager Ian Baraclough has said.

Evans took a knock in Leicester's Premier League defeat to West Ham on Sunday, but Baraclough said he had reported to camp ready to play.

"He has reported last night (Sunday) and this morning to be OK," Baraclough said. "Nothing to worry about."

Evans, 32, missed both of Northern Ireland's fixtures in September through a combination of personal reasons and injury, and did not play his first game of the season until Leicester's 5-2 win over Manchester City a little over a week ago.

He was substituted in that match after his calf tightened up, but there had been no further concerns over his fitness until he took the knock in Sunday's 3-0 home reverse to the Hammers, in which he played all 90 minutes.

Baraclough said there were "one or two bumps and bruises" within his 26-man squad for both the Bosnia trip and subsequent Nations League games against Austria and Norway, but that there were no major issues to worry about.

Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis played only a limited role in Rangers' 2-0 win over Ross County on Sunday, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute, meaning he is fresh as he stands to break Pat Jennings' caps record on Thursday by making his 120th appearance.

"He does the things right leading up to a game. We're fortunate that he took a rest on Sunday for Rangers," Baraclough said. "It's allowed him to have a really good run-up to the game and I expect him to lead the team out."

Northern Ireland v Norway – UEFA Nations League – Group 1 – League B – Windsor Park
Steven Davis can break Pat Jennings' Northern Ireland caps record this week (Liam McBurney/PA)

Northern Ireland have spent months preparing for Thursday's fixture, which was originally scheduled for March before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

The winner will face either the Republic of Ireland or Slovakia for a place in the rearranged Euro 2020 finals, offering Northern Ireland the chance of qualifying for a second European Championships in a row.

"There's a definite focus on making sure we are in the final come next month to give ourselves a chance to get to the Euros," Baraclough said. "Players want to be there.

"Players want to experience the feeling of being at a competition that is renowned worldwide now and being on the biggest stage, so there's no bigger incentive."

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Northern Ireland manager Ian Baraclough pictured on September 7, 2020
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


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