Dan Ballard says Northern Ireland's four-game Nations League window is a real chance for players who have not had many minutes. The defender is back after a hamstring lay-off and is looking ahead to a stretch of four matches in 11 days, the first time Northern Ireland have faced that kind of schedule since 2022.
Squad depth and young players
Speaking to BBC Sport, Ballard said: "There are some new faces and young faces who we are really excited to see come through."
He added: "Sometimes we forget how strong a squad we have and then you look at training and there are a lot of hungry players who want to be involved. We have a lot of work to do, but there is a lot of talent and hunger."
That view fits the shape of this camp. Ballard missed April's World Cup play-off semi-final defeat by Italy and June's friendlies against Guinea and France because of a hamstring injury, so his own return comes after a stop-start spell. He has made just 4 appearances for Sunderland this season, and his season rating stands at 6.27.
The club context is mixed, too. Ballard has played 450 minutes across his last five club matches, while Sunderland's last five league results were L-L-D-W-L. He also pointed to a team that finished 7th last season, which explains why he is not treating the international window as a one-man exercise.
Four games in 11 days
Northern Ireland travel to face Georgia on 25 September and welcome Hungary three days later. They then go to Slovakia to face Ukraine before hosting Georgia on 5 October.
Ballard's point is not that the schedule will be easy. It is that the squad should be able to handle it, especially with fringe players and younger faces in the frame. Michael O'Neill will still need the core group to carry the load, but Ballard's comments suggest there is real confidence in the depth around them.
The test now is whether that depth shows up across all four matches, starting with Georgia on 25 September.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
