Longer international break 'bit unfair' on smaller nations - O'Neill

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill believes changes to the international calendar are making it "more challenging" for smaller nations to succeed.

O'Neill's side complete their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with matches against Slovakia and Luxembourg this month, meaning all Group A games will have been played in less than 11 weeks.

Things will be even more condensed in future seasons with the September and October international windows to be merged into one four-game slot in 2026.

O'Neill, who guided Northern Ireland to Euro 2016 qualification during his first spell in charge of the side, thinks the change will benefit larger countries as opposed to nations like Northern Ireland who have only "somewhere between 35 and 40 players" to choose from.

"If we're going to be playing [four-game windows] going forward in the World Cup, which I believe we will do, that's going to be challenging," said the former Stoke City boss.

"You need players to cover and a lot of these bigger nations can replace a Premier League player with a Premier League player. We don't have that depth in our squad at this minute in time.

"If you're thinking of covering those four games, you're probably going to pick a 30-man squad. I would probably not have anyone to leave out or very few people to leave out."

While Northern Ireland remain firmly in contention to make it to the USA, Canada and Mexico next summer, the most recent of their three World Cup appearances came in 1986.

Increased tournament sizes have opened up more qualification places but O'Neill believes his side would have a greater chance of success if there were more frequent, but shorter, international windows.

"If you offered me the chance, I would take international football back to Wednesday nights and you only play one game. I think that suits Northern Ireland better, I genuinely do," he said.

"When I look back at how Northern Ireland were probably able to compete [in the 1980s], we had a lot more players playing in the higher level of English football then but they were coming together and they were playing quickly and I do think that helped.

"Now international football is more challenging when you have to play the double-header and you have to travel in between games when the bigger nations have bigger budgets and they travel in the best conditions possible. I think our preparation is as good as it can be at this minute in time but it will be a challenge."

This month's qualifying double-header again sees Northern Ireland hampered by injury and suspension.

Shea Charles, Ali McCann and Brodie Spencer all picked up injuries on club duty in recent weeks, while Ethan Galbraith misses out on the first game of the pair in Slovakia after collecting two bookings in the campaign's first four games.

Sheffield Wednesday's Pierce Charles remains out with the shoulder problem he sustained in August.

The goalkeeper's club boss Henrik Pedersen said last week he expects a return in late November or early December, meaning the injury will sideline the 20-year-old for about three months and he will miss an entire qualifying campaign.

"It's a bit unfair to players when a World Cup only comes around every four years," O'Neill said.

"The next time Pierce Charles gets the chance, he'll be 23, 24. You might only have three or four goes at it as a player and if you miss one opportunity, it's a little bit unfair.

"I think that the bigger window adds to that unfairness but it is what it is and we have to deal with it."

Despite the challenges of changing calendars, O'Neill believes his squad depth will improve in coming years thanks to his senior squad's potential for growth and those already performing well in underage panels.

While O'Neill's success in his first spell was built around a veteran core of players such as Johnny Evans, Steven Davis, Gareth McAuley and Aaron Hughes, his current squad is led by a group only in the early stages of their careers.

Citing Pierce Charles going from the Under-19 European Championships to the senior side's number one in only a matter of months during 2024, O'Neill has also been enthused by the progress made by the likes of Arsenal's Ceadach O'Neill, George Feeney of Tottenham, Chris Atherton at Chelsea and under-21 captain Michael Forbes, who is on loan at Northampton Town from West Ham.

"I was trying to keep Johnny, Davo, McAuley and Hughes playing as long as they could. If I could wheel three of them out in Slovakia [next week] I would do it without any hesitation," he laughed.

"I think with this team, it's different because this team is only going to get better. I have no doubts about that.

"I always felt with the previous team it was about keeping it together but when I look at this group of players and I see what we have beneath it, I would anticipate hopefully in the next two to three years that those boys are stepping through to play senior international football as well in the way that Shea Charles and Conor Bradley and Isaac Price were at 19 years of age."