Danish heartbreak offered glimpse into NI future

International Friendly: Denmark v Northern Ireland

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

Coverage: Watch live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two NI, listen on BBC Sounds and follow live text commentary & in-play clips on the BBC Sport website

Northern Ireland's last visit to Copenhagen will always be best remembered for the almost five-minute VAR check that preceded the disallowing of Callum Marshall's injury-time equaliser.

The debutant striker thought his instinctive flick only nine minutes into his international career had secured a creditable draw only for technology to intervene and eventually judge that Jonny Evans was marginally offside in the build-up.

Michael O'Neill described the decision as "a joke" but, as he brings his side back to the Parken Stadium just shy of two years on for a friendly on Saturday evening, the manager can look back on the heart-breaking night as a key staging post of his second spell in charge.

Coming in between dispiriting home defeats by Finland and Kazakhstan, the game may not have appeared to be any great turning point yet, in the time since, those who were then just dipping their toes into international waters have become the core of his side.

O'Neill was without 10 regulars when last in Copenhagen, travelling without the likes of Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans, Josh Magennis and Conor Washington, while Craig Cathcart pulled out on the morning of the game.

In their absence, O'Neill started three teenagers in an international XI for the first time in his career, with Liverpool's Conor Bradley joined by Isaac Price and Shea Charles, while another two, Marshall and Dale Taylor, came off the bench.

Indeed, it was the first time since May 2011 that any Northern Ireland side had featured as many as three players yet to celebrate their 20th birthdays.

Then it was Josh Carson, Johnny Gorman and Lee Hodson who all started together against Wales in the short-lived Nations Cup under manager Nigel Worthington.

While the latter won 24 caps and was a member of the squad that went to Euro 2016, that neither Carson nor Gorman hit double figures illustrates the vagaries of development when it comes to throwing young players in at the deep end.

With that in mind, O'Neill can only be delighted with how his own teenage trio have progressed.

Now all 21-years-old, Bradley is the team's talisman and was a part of the Liverpool squad that won the Premier League this season.

Shea Charles was in his final weeks on the books at Manchester City at the time of the Denmark fixture and would soon join Southampton. On loan at Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship this season, he impressed at Hillsborough and, like Bradley, has already captained the international side.

For a team who have struggled for a regular goalscorer since the days of David Healy and Kyle Lafferty, the final member of the triumvirate, Price, developing a knack for finding the back of the net has been key.

Having left Everton for Standard Liege shortly after his first international start, the midfielder swapped Belgium for West Brom in January and already has eight goals in 20 caps.

In Northern Ireland's history only Norman Whiteside - who scored his eighth international goal three weeks and six days after his 21st birthday - ever scored as many at such a young age.

Throw in the fact that the June 2023 game also represented a first start for Trai Hume, another of O'Neill's captains who was integral to Sunderland's promotion to the Premiership this season, and the game can now be said to have represented a real glimpse into the side's future.

Back then, Northern Ireland were in the middle of a run of just three wins in 16 fixtures and O'Neill said after the game that he was "not thinking about [tournament] qualification" but instead simply "about putting points on the board".

Since, the goalposts have moved with three defeats in 13 games, a run that began with a 2-0 win in the reverse fixture with Denmark, raising hopes that O'Neill could lead a second squad to a major tournament.

With this window, where Northern Ireland will also host Iceland in Belfast on 10 June, representing the final games before qualification for the 2026 World Cup begins in September, the return to Copenhagen offers an interesting yardstick to measure progress.

With Bradley and Crystal Palace's Justin Devenny the only players in O'Neill's panel to have featured in the Premier League this season, their hosts on Saturday, ranked 21st in the Fifa world rankings, will contain a plethora of players drawn from Europe's top leagues.

In Northern Ireland's last outing, an injury-hit panel struggled in a 5-1 defeat to Sweden when the top-flight quality of Newcastle United's Alexander Isak proved especially telling.

With Germany in their four-team group to make it to Canada, Mexico and the USA next summer, there is clearly a need for more regular exposure to higher level of opposition.

Two years ago a callow side almost pulled off a shock draw. Saturday offers the opportunity to show how far along the path that same group have come since then.