Exposing players to 'higher level' key for NI

International Friendly: Denmark v Northern Ireland

Venue: Parken Stadium, Copenhagen Date: Saturday, 7 June Kick-off: 18:00 BST

Coverage: Watch unrecorded connected BBC iPlayer and BBC Two NI; perceive connected BBC Sounds and travel unrecorded matter commentary & in-play clips connected nan BBC Sport website

Northern Ireland head Michael O'Neill says Saturday's friends against Denmark is astir exposing his young squad to a higher level of guidance earlier nan commencement of nan World Cup qualifiers successful September.

Northern Ireland look nan Danes successful Copenhagen astatine 18:00 BST and past big Iceland astatine Windsor Park connected Tuesday pinch a 19:45 kick-off.

O'Neill's broadside person mislaid conscionable 3 of their past 13 internationals successful caller years and gained promotion to League B successful nan Nations League but nan NI leader knows nan imaginable of facing Denmark represents a measurement up successful class.

Northern Ireland will look Germany, Slovakia and Luxembourg successful their World Cup qualifying group successful nan autumn.

"Denmark are a reliable team, a cookware 1 team," said O'Neill aft guiding his squad done a training campy successful Marbella up of nan double-header.

"We unfastened successful September distant to Luxembourg and past we're distant to Germany, truthful it's astir vulnerability for nan players, vulnerability to nan levels of world football, and stepping up that vulnerability from what we faced successful nan Nations League to what we're going to look coming into nan World Cup."

O'Neill's charges mislaid 1-0 to Denmark successful Euro 2024 qualifying successful June 2023 but exacted revenge pinch a 2-0 triumph complete nan Danes successful Belfast 5 months later.

Denmark caput coach Brian Riemer took up nan reins of nan squad successful October past twelvemonth and nan squad person won only 1 of their past six matches.

"We're distant from home, nan onus will beryllium connected them. They person a caller coach who is only 4 games in. That'll beryllium thing they will beryllium adapting to, a somewhat different style of play - rather fierce pinch really they want to property nan game, truthful we person to woody pinch that," said O'Neill.

"When we hit them astatine location we scored 2 awesome goals connected nan counter-attack and we'll person to play again connected that basis.

"It's a test. This is simply a very young squad. We person 50% of nan squad that are 21 and under, and immoderate of nan players who are a small older than that are conscionable starting retired connected their world travel arsenic well."

O'Neill believes his players should spell into games against precocious calibre guidance pinch confidence.

"They will spot nan crippled astatine nan highest level of world shot but we person to spell location pinch nan belief that we tin get a result.

"That's what we person to instil successful nan group of players arsenic we travel into a World Cup qualifying pinch six games wherever there's not a batch of room for error, surely erstwhile you person a squad for illustration Germany who typically predominate their group.

"We person to get crossed nan belief to nan players that those are nan benignant of games we tin get thing from."

O'Neill explained that June fixtures were nan "most challenging" connected nan world almanac pinch immoderate members of nan squad having vanished their seasons successful early May and others a batch much recently.

"The players were each astatine different stages successful nan first 2 days but we're pleased pinch nan activity that they've done.

"We didn't person immoderate withdrawals from nan first squad that we named truthful we're successful decent style barroom 1 aliases 2 small niggles that we've had to manage.

"The cardinal is to get arsenic overmuch arsenic we tin retired of nan 2 games."