By james art Striker Simone Magill has been named as Northern Ireland’s new captain ahead of their Euro 2025 play-off with Croatia.
Magill succeeds midfielder Marissa Callahan, who stepped down as captain in May.
The 29-year-old footballer has 85 games and 25 goals.
Only top scorer Rachel Furness has scored more times for Northern Ireland than Magill, who made her debut as a 15-year-old in 2010.
Magill was key as Northern Ireland qualified for the Euro 2022 finals, but cruelly picked up a knee injury in their first match against Norway.
She spent most of the first of her two seasons at Aston Villa recovering and signed for Birmingham City in the summer window.
Midfielder Callaghan, who was not included in the squad by manager Tanya Oxtoby, stepped down from his long-standing role as captain in May – saying it was the “best decision” for the team.
Defender Laura Rafferty regularly received the armband from Oxtoby, but now the Australian has settled on Magill as her permanent captain.
“From our point of view, we went through a diligent process,” the manager said.
“We’ve really defined what leadership is and what behavior leaders should have in our group, and in essence, Simone embodies everything a leader is in terms of her professionalism and demeanor, and also the way she looks at how we grow.” , which is a huge part of what we’re trying to do.”
The first leg of the first play-off round with Croatia is played on Friday before hosting Windsor Park on Tuesday 29 October.
Norway or Albania await the winner of the tie in the final play-off round in November, with the winner then qualifying for the Euro 2025 finals.