Northern Ireland will face hosts Canada, Qatar and Switzerland in Group B of the World Cup if they come through March's tricky play-off.

Michael O'Neill's side finished third in their qualifying group behind Germany and Slovakia, but still booked a play-off spot thanks to their Nations League finish in 2024.

Northern Ireland face a difficult play-off semi-final in Italy, who have not played at the World Cup since 2014, on 26 March in Path A.

If they can stun the Italians, then O'Neill's young squad would travel to Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina in the play-off final, and the winner of that match would progress to the finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Hosts Canada would await in the opening game in Toronto on 12 June, before matches with Switzerland, in California on 18 June, and a final group match with Qatar in Seattle on 24 June.

Read Andy Gray's full article here.

Image source, Press Eye

Linfield manager David Healy admitted he was "frustrated" his side could not find a winner at Inver Park on Friday, but has no complaints with the level of performance in the 0-0 draw at Larne.

The Blues looked close to making the breakthrough late in the first half but Larne goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson did well to divert a Matthew Fitzpatrick header away from danger and then recovered to save the follow-up from Callumn Morrison.

Kyle McClean also spurned a decent chance from a back-post header and while Linfield managed to apply pressure in the second period, the goal would not come.

"I thought our level of performance was good and we should have taken the lead in the first half," Healy relfected, when speaking to BBC Sport NI.

"There wasn't much in the second half but I'm disappointed we didn't land on some of our set plays, which was frustrating as some of the balls were into areas they should have been.

"We couldn't execute the final ball to get a clear-cut shot, but Larne are top of the league for a reason. Tonight we probably cancelled each other out."

The draw moves Linfield up to third in the standings, but they still trail leaders Larne by seven points with a game in hand.

Healy felt the result at Inver Park will act as a spur to the other contenders who will have the opportunity to narrow the gap on Saturday.

"I'm frustrated, but Larne are top, seven clear of us and a few clear of some of the others," he continued.

"The other teams will be pleased we cancelled each other out as it gives them an opportunity to go and gain a couple of points."

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Larne manager Gary Haveron felt his side "needed to be better with the ball" as they were forced to settle for a scoreless draw against Linfield on Friday.

The league-leaders were under a bit of pressure late in the first half with Rohan Ferguson making a smart stop from Callumn Morrison, while Linfield's Kyle McClean probably should have done better with a back-post header.

Haveron's side had their moments too with Matt Ridley denied by Chris Johns late on, but it would finish honours even with the Larne boss taking the positives from his team's defensive display.

"I was a bit disappointed with our first half performance," Haveron told BBC Sport NI.

"For the first 20 minutes, I thought we looked really good and were the bigger threat, but then we started going long and stringing the game out.

"They missed a chance before half-time with [Kyle] McClean's header, but other than that I don't remember that many chances in the game.

"I'm happy with how we defended, but we needed to be better with the ball, especially in the first half."

The draw means Larne move three clear at the top with nearest challengers Coleraine hosting Carrick Rangers on Saturday [15:00 GMT].

Larne do have a game in hand on the Bannsiders, but Haveron is not getting carried away at this stage of the campaign.

"Win, lose or draw, the league was never going to be decided tonight," he added.

"The only winners tonight is the other teams as we've taken points off each other but that's to be expected as they are tight games and there's never going to be a landslide win one way or the other. We'll take a point and move on to next week."

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Watch highlights as Larne and Linfield drew a blank in the Irish Premiership.

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the Irish Premiership action this afternoon.

Last night, leaders Larne extended their advantage at the top of the table after a 0-0 draw against defending champions Linfield.

Coleraine will be hoping to close the gap though this afternoon and are aiming to move top again when they face Carrick Rangers at the Coleraine Showgrounds.

After meeting in the League Cup mid-week, Glentoran and Cliftonville will play at the Oval for the second time in five days with the Reds out for revenge after their exit in the cup.

Ballymena United welcome Dungannon Swifts in their first league match since the departure of Jim Ervin.

After a convincing victory over the Sky Blues last weekend, bottom-of-the-table Glenavon face Bangor at Mourneview Park as they try to register back-to-back victories for the first time this season.

At Seaview, Crusaders will aim to end their run of three games without a win against Portadown, who have won just one of their last six league fixtures.

We'll keep you right up to date with all the drama and action as it unfolds with live audio coverage on Sportsound from 14:00 BST, plus text updates and in-play clips throughout the afternoon.

We will also have a report from the matches with highlights and reaction to the day's events to follow.

Thanks for joining us. Enjoy!