Northern Ireland star’s confidence in depth ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Germany

Northern Ireland begin their World Cup qualifying campaign with a double-header on the road and will be without a number of defenders for the games against Luxembourg and Germany

Shea Charles feelss Northern Ireland possess the squad depth required to handle a string of defensive absentees as they kick off their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Michael O’Neill’s side launch their Group A quest with back-to-back away fixtures against Luxembourg and Germany, starting Thursday before travelling to Cologne on Sunday.

They’ll be without Daniel Ballard, Ciaron Brown, Brodie Spencer and Charles’ sibling Pierce, who had established himself as first choice between the sticks in recent outings but is sidelined with a shoulder problem.

O’Neill has drafted in Kofi Balmer, Jamie McDonnell, Ryan Johnson and Stephen McMullan – all uncapped – though he’ll need to reorganise his backline.

Eoin Toal returns to the squad whilst Paddy McNair and Ruairi McConville represent additional centre-back options, with the experienced Bailey Peacock-Farrell restored among the goalkeeping ranks.

“I’ve not really got any worries about the players that are coming in and replacing the likes of Dan, I feel that we’ve always been very strong in that area,” Charles said.

“We’ve got Toaly coming back in as well, which obviously helps a lot, and I think those players will be able to perform as well as they’ve done before.

“I’m gutted for (Pierce), he was doing so well at Sheffield Wednesday, he was playing well for us, so it’s a bit of a blow for him and for us. But we’ve got the players to come in and do a good job in that position.”

Northern Ireland are setting their sights on second place in the group, with Germany expected to take the top spot. They’re looking to outdo Slovakia and Luxembourg, making Thursday’s opening match all the more crucial.

“I think the main thing is to get a good start, going away to Luxembourg, where we drew last time,” Charles commented. “I know it’s going to be a tough game, so just to go there and try and win the game, that can give us the confidence to go into the next game..

“I think no matter who we’re going to play in the first game, it’s important to get a good start.

“Going away from home as well in the first game, I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing. I think if we can go there and get a win, then we’ve still got three more home games to go, so I think it’s exciting.”

Last November, Northern Ireland had a 2-2 draw at the Stade de Luxembourg, squandering a 2-0 lead in a Nations League match that provided O’Neill’s young squad with several learning opportunities.

“The main thing we can learn is we had chances to kind of kill the game off, obviously we didn’t do that,” Charles reflected. “Also on the flip side, just to be able to stay solid at the back, which normally we are apart from the odd occasion.

“Conceding a set-piece, obviously the second goal was a good finish, but it was a bit disappointing to not win that game, so that’s something we learned that day, to see our games out.”