The reason Conor Bradley was subbed at half-time for Northern Ireland

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Conor Bradley was substituted at half-time as Northern Ireland closed off the group stage of their World Cup qualifiers with a 1-0 victory over Luxembourg. Bradley started the final game of Group A as captain, as manager Michael O’Neill made six changes with progress to the playoff round already confirmed.

Bradley’s route to the 2026 World Cup While Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez were left distraught after Hungary failed to finish in the top two of their qualifying group and therefore cannot reach next summer’s World Cup, the same does not apply to Bradley. Despite Northern Ireland coming third in Group A, they will still enter the playoff round due to their performance in the UEFA Nations League.

Northern Ireland are guaranteed to face one of the four best-ranked runners-up – based on FIFA’s world rankings – away in their one-legged semi-final. That means Bradley’s country could face ninth-in-the-world Italy in their semi-final, while top-ranked Spain and eighth-ranked Belgium are not yet guaranteed automatic qualification either.