#ANewDream To Linger Long In The Memory (Northern Ireland At EURO 2022)

Northern Ireland’s first appearance at a major tournament, told mostly by the players who made it. The campaign opened with a 4-1 loss to Norway that cost Simone Magill a knee injury and brought the nation’s first goal at a major finals, fittingly scored by Julie Nelson, the first Northern Irish woman to win 100 caps. A 2-0 defeat to Austria gave younger players tournament minutes, and England were held for forty minutes before the substitutes told. Kenny Shiels was proud of a small country out-singing 30,000 English supporters. Rachel Furness presses for the federation to build on turning the squad full-time for six months; Ashley Hutton, back from an ACL injury and retiring after the last game, calls eighteen years of work a privilege; and Marissa Callaghan warns of the wake-up call waiting on Monday.