| Venue: St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton Date: Monday, 11 July Kick-off: 17:00 BST |
| Coverage: Live on BBC One from 16:30 BST, BBC Radio 5 Live & BBC Radio Ulster commentary and live text coverage on the BBC Sport website |
Northern Ireland manager Kenny Shiels believes the loss of Simone Magill is an opportunity for other players to step up against Austria on Monday.
Magill is out of the Euros after sustaining an ACL injury in Thursday’s opening 4-1 defeat by Norway.
Shiels added that midfielder Nadene Caldwell “should be OK” after picking up a knock against the Norwegians.
“We have to go onto the pitch and be totally selfless. It must be all about the team,” said Shiels.
Defeat would all but end any hopes of progression for either side, with the Austrians losing 1-0 to hosts England in their opener.
Northern Ireland have played Austria in World Cup qualifying twice in the past eight months. In October, the sides drew 2-2 in Belfast, where Austria scored an injury-time equaliser, followed by a 3-1 win for Austria in April.
With Magill’s absence, 20-year-old Emily Wilson and 19-year-old Caitlin McGuinness are the two remaining out-and-out strikers in Shiels’ squad, and the manager admits his side will “have to adapt” for their second match.
“We all have to step up. Simone is a big loss but we can’t sound like we are making excuses,” he added.
“She’s one of our main assets. What she can do is exactly what we need – change how we play, considerably, because we haven’t got that type of player as good as Simone, with what she does.
“But that’s football. That’s the way it goes. You get setbacks like that. Sometimes you adapt. When we played Austria before [in October], we lost five players after playing England, and four of them were automatic starters – and we were absolutely brilliant that night.”
Callaghan ‘good to go’ from the start
Shiels added that it was a chance for some younger players to gain experience on the big stage.
“There is an opportunity for others to come in and get some game time at the finals, and that will be a good experience for them,” added the 66-year-old.
“The experience the young girls will get is invaluable. There are players coming to the end of their career, we know that, but the young ones have to learn from the more senior players, their professionalism in how they prepare for games.
“This tournament will not only help our team in the future, it will help the next wave of young players coming through. Their motivation to play for Northern Ireland now is higher than it has ever been. We’ll continue to press forward.”
Captain Marissa Callaghan said she would be “good to go” if called upon from the start at St Mary’s. The 36-year-old came off the bench for Caldwell at half-time against Norway as she retuned to action following a toe injury, which threatened to stop her involvement in the tournament.
“I’m feeling really good and it was great to get on when I did,” said Callaghan.
“Not only about the experience, but to get the minutes in the tank. I’m feeling good and I’m ready to go.”
