Northern Ireland will face Sweden in March as Michael O’Neill’s side prepare for the start of World Cup qualifying.
They will travel to Stockholm on March 25 to take on the team currently ranked 27th in the world at the Strawberry Arena.
The Irish Football Association is yet to confirm plans for a second friendly match before the trip to the Swedish capital. [IFA].
“The match will be a great opportunity to test ourselves against a higher ranked team similar to the one we will face in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup,” O’Neill told the IFA website.
“We have made progress over the last 12 months, continuing to introduce younger players into the team and developing a system and style of play.”
Northern Ireland had a strong 2024 as they topped their Nations League group.
The most notable result for O’Neill’s youth team was a 5-0 victory over Bulgaria in Belfast in October, with a hat-trick from Isaac Price.
Conor Bradley scored the winning goal in NI’s impressive friendly win in Scotland in March.
Northern Ireland will begin their World Cup qualifying campaign in Luxembourg in September.
The last time Sweden faced Northern Ireland in a Euro 2008 qualifying match was when both teams drew 1-1. Earlier in the campaign, David Healy scored a famous brace in a 2-1 win at Windsor Park.
As well as the friendlies in March, Northern Ireland will also discover their final opponent in World Cup qualifying when Italy and Germany meet in the Nations League play-offs.
The winner of that tie will join Northern Ireland, Luxembourg and Slovakia in Group A.
