Northern Ireland vs Belarus: Trai Hume aims for victory in Nations League match

Sunderland defender Trai Hume says Northern Ireland must back up their last Nations League appearance and try to win their group as they prepare to face Belarus on Friday.

Michael O’Neill’s side defeated Bulgaria 5-0 in their last match and now sit top of League C Group 3 for the final two group games.

“It was a great result. The fans enjoyed it and we enjoyed it,” Hume told BBC Sport NI.

“It’s hard to win games like that and it will be hard to back that up, but the most important thing is to try and get the three points.”

After Belarus visited Windsor Park on Friday evening, Northern Ireland completes its campaign against Luxembourg on Monday.

O’Neill’s side have enjoyed a good run of results at home, having won their last four games in Belfast – a run Hume is keen to extend.

“Almost every time we play at Windsor Park we get a result or put in a good performance, so we have to keep that going,” he said.

“The fans are brilliant as always so they have to keep pushing us and hopefully we can keep winning for them.”

The victory will not only bring pride to Northern Ireland at home.

Securing top spot in their Nations League group could open a back door to the 2026 World Cup finals via the play-offs.

“We have to try to back up (our last performances) as best we can in the next two games and try to win the group,” Hume added.

“The Euro campaign didn’t go the way we probably wanted with a lot of appearances and a lot of results, so building on that I think we’ve done really well over the last 18 months.

“It’s a young group and we just have to get better.”