Ali McCann knows from first-hand experience there is no reason to believe Northern Ireland cannot be a match for Italy in Thursday's World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final in Bergamo.
The 26-year-old is one of four players in the current squad who featured when the Italians visited Belfast in November 2021 at the tail-end of the last World Cup qualifying campaign.
A 0-0 draw at Windsor Park left Italy second in Group C – and they subsequently lost to North Macedonia in the play-offs to miss out on a second consecutive World Cup finals.
Ian Baraclough’s side could have won that night, with Conor Washington rounding Gianluigi Donnarumma but seeing his shot blocked on the line late on.
"We actually should have won that game at the end," said McCann, who earned the third of his 33 caps against Italy. "We could have nicked it at the end, but we played really well that night.
"I think if you go off that, then there’s no reason why we can’t do something similar. We frustrated them a lot that night and could have come away with more at the end. But that was class."
While missing out on the last two editions has represented something of a crisis for the four-time world champions, Northern Ireland are bidding to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
McCann said they should take confidence from their performances in qualifying Group A, when they shone in a win over Slovakia, and pushed Germany close.
"We’re in these games for a reason, and there’s no reason why we can’t go and get something from it," he said of Thursday’s play-off semi-final.
"I think if you look at the campaign as a whole, it was a positive one. The Slovakia game at home, we were brilliant. The two games against Germany, we played really well against a top-quality side. We just weren’t clinical enough in those moments.
"If you look through the games you can pick out loads of positives and then hopefully we can apply that on Thursday to get something from the game."
McCann has missed Preston’s last two games with an ankle injury, but is back in training and confident of being fit for Thursday.
One of his recent appearances for the Lilywhites saw him come up against Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill in his role as Blackburn manager, which O’Neill took on last month.
The move bemused many supporters so close to a qualifying play-off, but McCann said he did not expect it to have any impact on Northern Ireland – even if it was an odd feeling on the day at Ewood Park, where Yuki Ohashi’s stoppage-time gave Blackburn a 1-0 win.
"It was weird seeing him," he said. "I think he was buzzing at the end because they scored in the 96th minute.
"I don’t think it makes a difference for us as players at all. It’s one of those things, it’s just happened in the background and we don’t really notice it.
"I’m sure the preparation this week will be the exact same as it always has been, and whatever happens after that will happen."
Sunderland centre-back Dan Ballard has been ruled out with a hamstring injury, with his place in the squad taken by 19-year-old Blackburn defender Tom Atcheson.
