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.
But the Liverpool right-back only played 45 minutes in his country’s 1-0 victory before being replaced by Terry Devlin at half-time.
Why Conor Bradley was substituted at half-time
There is no indication that Bradley suffered a fitness issue and the 22-year-old is understood to have simply been rested with progress to the playoffs already certain and automatic qualification no longer possible.
O’Neill had also expressed a concern over suspensions for the playoffs, which include a one-legged semi-final and then a possible final, taking place in March.
While Bradley was not under immediate threat of a ban if he picked up a yellow card against Luxembourg a lack of clarity over the situation led to no risks being taken.
Trai Hume and Justin Devenny were left out entirely due to their suspension risk, with Tottenham‘s Jamie Donley scoring the winner from the spot.
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.
The same applies to Alexander Isak‘s Sweden, who have so far taken one point from five games in Group B but still qualify for the playoffs.
Sixteen teams will enter the playoff draw – the 12 group runners-up and the four best-ranked UEFA Nations League sides who finished outside of the top two in their groups – which will take place on Thursday.
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.
13 Liverpool players already qualified for 2026 World Cup
Five more Liverpool players secured a place at the 2026 World Cup on Monday night as Germany and Netherlands qualified, meaning Florian Wirtz, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Jeremie Frimpong and Cody Gakpo should be involved.
They join Alisson, Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konate, Hugo Ekitike, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Joe Gomez and Wataru Endo as internationals to have already qualified.
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