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O’Neill set for mixed challenge
- Updated: October 7, 2016
Michael O’Neill believes preparing Northern Ireland to play teams at opposite ends of the football spectrum is the toughest task in the international game.
O’Neill’s side will host San Marino – a side which has not avoided defeat in a World Cup qualifier in the last 15 years – at the fully redeveloped Windsor Park on Saturday.
After that, they will head to Hanover to take on world champions Germany in what is expected to be the toughest fixture of their group.
While the Germans are a daunting prospect, San Marino are ranked a lowly 201st in the FIFA rankings and O’Neill acknowledges the contrast.
He said: “That transition is the most difficult part of international football. I always remember the first game in charge where we were away to (Fabio) Capello’s Russia.
“We had to be difficult to beat and then we had to get back from Russia, turn the team around …
