George Saville is looking forward to a bright future for Northern Ireland after their Nations League campaign ended with promotion to the second tier of European football.
The 31-year-old Millwall midfielder admitted there were “mixed emotions” in the immediate aftermath of Monday’s 2-2 draw away to Luxembourg given the way a 2-0 lead quickly disappeared in the space of three mad minutes late in the game, but nevertheless it was job done for Michael O’Neill’s side.
A starting XI with an average age of 22.2 set a new post-war record for the country, and their success in topping Group 3 in League C caps a hugely encouraging year in which a new Northern Ireland side playing exciting, attacking football has emerged in time for next year’s World Cup qualifiers.
“It gives us confidence and obviously we look forward to March now,” Saville told the PA news agency.
“It’s about keeping moving forward. The lads are young. You see the starting line-up, this is a young, young team. They’re gaining a lot of experience game by game and the longer they can do that, the more experience they gain at a young age, it can only be a positive.
“We’re heading in the right direction, we’re looking forward now. Michael has put together a squad that is young. There are a few senior lads and we will be needed at some stage, it’s about doing the best for the squad, but we’re looking forward.”
Those senior players had a role to play in the dressing room at the Stade de Luxembourg, with many of their younger team-mates frustrated by how the game had ended.
Northern Ireland had looked in complete control after Conor Bradley’s header made it 2-0 at the start of the second half, adding to Isaac Price’s early strike, but things quickly unravelled with quickfire goals from Seid Korac and Gerson Rodrigues bringing the hosts level 15 minutes from time.
“There were mixed emotions, but we just reminded them that we’ve topped the group and we’ve got to take the positives,” Saville said.
“It’s obviously not nice not to win the game, conceding two late goals, but we just reminded them we’ve won the campaign.
“(The first 70 minutes) were excellent. The boys played really well. We played well in the last game as well and I think the campaign has been really positive. We’ve shown a lot of growth and long may it continue.”