Northern Ireland’s Euro 2025 Play-Off with Norway moved away from Windsor Park

The first leg of the crunch qualifier is set to be played on Friday November 29, with kick-off at 7pm.

Tanya Oxtoby’s team set up a clash with the top class Scandinavian outfit on Tuesday night when Lauren Wade’s stunning extra-time strike secured a 2-1 aggregate victory over Croatia at Windsor Park.

Northern Ireland have played four of their last five home games at the National Stadium, with Tuesday’s game attracting a crowd of just shy of 4,000.

With Larne’s capacity under 2,500, some followers of Oxtoby’s team are likely to miss out on the crucial game.

Windsor Park is unavailable with Linfield set to host Portadown in the Sports Direct Premiership at the famous south Belfast venue less than 24 hours later.

Some will welcome the move, however, as a sold out Inver Park is likely to generate a more passionate atmosphere than a three-quarters empty Windsor Park.

Inver’s 3G pitch may also help Oxtoby’s team, with all Sports Direct Women’s Premiership fixtures played on a synthetic surface.

The second leg of the decisive Play-Off will be staged at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo at 5pm on Tuesday 3 December.

Norway will be clear favourites to progress to Euro 2025 in Switzerland. The two-time European champions have only lost one international this year, reaching this stage by beating Albania 14-0 on aggregate.

The Norwegian squad boasts star names such as Lyon’s Ada Hegerberg, Barcelona’s Caroline Graham-Hansen and Arsenal’s Frida Maanum, who are now set to grace Inver Park.