Hatters duo learn World Cup opponents after play-off draw
Both Saville and Al-Hamadi could be involved in March matches
Luton midfielder George Saville faces a trip to Italy and a possible clash against Wales if he is to help Northern Ireland reach the World Cup Finals for the first time since 1986.
The 32-year-old won his 63rd cap for his country on Friday, getting the full 90 minutes of their World Cup qualifying 1-0 stoppage time defeat in Slovakia, a result that ended their hopes of a top-two finish in Group A, but reach the play-offs as a Nations League winner, before he wasn’t involved in Monday’s 1-0 victory over Luxembourg.
With Michael O’Neill’s side finishing third in the table, it saw Northern Ireland handed a trip to the Azzurri in today's play-off draw that took place in Zurich, Switzerland. The Italians, managed by head coach Gennaro Gattuso, finished second in a group that was topped by ex-Hatters Thelo Aasgaard’s Norway, and will host Northern Ireland on March 26 at a yet to be announced venue. With the tie in pathway A, then it means the winners will go up against whoever comes through the Wales v Bosnia and Herzegovina contest on March 31, as Craig Bellamy’s side thrashed North Macedonia 7-1 to finish second in their group.
O’Neill was in confident mood about his side’s chances though, saying: “I think at times we've been a little bit unfortunate with some of the decisions that have gone against us and also a little bit unfortunate with the players we've had unavailable to us with injury as well. But over the piste, we've made a lot of progression, and that gives us a lot of optimism for the games in March.
“The only way to progress in international football is to play, it's as simple as that. You can't come on for 10 minutes and you're ready then forever. There's a process that has to go through. We need to get minutes into as many players as possible. We only have 10 games a year and we want to try and use them as much as possible to get players minutes at international level, but really, their development is driven by their clubs, and that's something we're not in control of."
Meanwhile, Town forward Ali Al-Hamadi could also be involved in helping Iraq reach the World Cup Finals for just the second time in their history, as he played the opening 45 minutes, winning his 16th cap, also scoring a fourth goal, in a 1-1 World Cup qualifying fifth round first leg draw against UAE last week. He was then withdrawn from the squad due to a quad injury, as the Lions of Mesopotamia earned a dramatic stoppage time 2-1 victory in the second leg in front of 62,444 fans at the Basra International Stadium on Tuesday to earn their place in the inter-confederation play-offs.
Ensured a place in the final, Iraq who have only taken part at one World Cup before, that in 1986, are currently 58th in the FIFA rankings, one place above the Republic of Ireland, as they will take on either Bolivia (Conmebol) or Suriname (Concacaf), ranked 76th or 123rd respectively by FIFA, in the match which also takes place in March.