Tanya Oxtoby: Northern Ireland coach delighted with ‘exciting’ World Cup qualifiers.

Northern Ireland coach Tanya Oxtoby says she is looking forward to a “huge challenge” in her 2027 World Cup qualifying group.

Switzerland, Turkey and Malta will form the opponents in Group B of the qualifiers starting on March 3, with the teams playing each other home and away.

Euro 2025 hosts Switzerland reached the second stage of the competition before being relegated to Spain, but have since suffered relegation from National League A.

Northern Ireland failed to qualify for the summer continental tournament, but faced Malta in the qualifiers to a goalless draw before Northern Ireland won 2-0 in Malta.

Türkiye regained its place in the Second League with a relegation play-off win over Kosovo.

“I’m really happy with this draw. It’s a really exciting variety of opponents for us,” Oxtoby said.

“It will be great to challenge ourselves against a really exciting young Swiss team, which I had the pleasure of watching at the European Championships (in Switzerland in the summer). It will be a big challenge for us to put ourselves against them.

“Malta is obviously a team we’ve played before, and we know what to expect. With Türkiye, it’s a bit of an unknown, but again it’s going to be a big challenge.”

Oxtoby added that the “fantastic mix of different opponents” will be instrumental in helping the Northern Ireland side continue their journey of growth together.

Northern Ireland missed out on a place in Division One with a two-legged defeat to Iceland in a UEFA Nations League qualifier.

The group winner will qualify for League A and be guaranteed a first-round play-off against the third-placed team in League B, but the bottom-placed team will be eliminated.