Conor Bradley the “driving force” for his country as Ben Doak enjoys senior debut

Conor Bradley was outstanding again as Northern Ireland sealed a 2-0 win over Luxembourg on Thursday, while Ben Doak impressed on his debut for Scotland.

Bradley has featured in every game for Liverpool so far this season, albeit off the bench, with Arne Slot a fierce admirer of Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s deputy.

There is no such backup role for the 21-year-old at international level, though, as he is the best and most important player in Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland squad.

That showed on Thursday night as they got their UEFA Nations League campaign underway with a 2-0 victory at home to Luxembourg.

Bradley played the full 90 minutes as a right wing-back and was involved more than any other player, with 61 touches per FotMob.

Liverpool's Conor Bradley goes close for Northern Ireland ?#ITVFootball | #NationsLeague | #GAWA pic.twitter.com/rbyXuobCel

— ITV Football (@itvFootball) September 5, 2024

He contested (13) and won (eight) the most duels for his country, as well as firing the joint-most shots on goal (three) and making the most defensive actions (six).

It was an all-action display which led the Irish News‘ Kenny Archer to label him Northern Ireland’s “driving force.”

“There’s no doubt about the star in [O’Neill’s] new-look team,” Archer wrote, adding that “Luxembourg simply could not cope with Bradley.”

The Belfast Telegraph gave Bradley a team-high rating of nine out of 10, with reporter Julian Taylor writing that he “was at the heart of everything Northern Ireland attempted going forward.”

Archer did note that Bradley suffered a “heavy knock,” but having stayed on to play the full 90 minutes the hope is that it won’t be an issue.

Speaking after his side’s victory, manager O’Neill tipped his MVP to go to “a very, very high level,” though he did hint that he needed more game time with his club to do so.

“He’s just turned 21, he’s a terrific player, and the attributes are there for everyone to see,” O’Neill said.

“Conor will go to a very, very high level in the game. It’s game time that he needs and he’s at a club where that’s not easy to get.

“But when he comes here he embraces it.”

One player who left Liverpool in search for regular minutes this season is Doak, who has joined Middlesbrough on loan for the 2024/25 campaign.

Before he starts life in the Championship proper, though, the winger is spending the international break with Scotland – which saw him make his senior debut against Poland on Thursday.

Doak came off the bench to join a side captained by Andy Robertson, and soon after played a role in Scott McTominay’s equaliser for 2-2 – but unfortunately, a last-minute penalty from Nicola Zalewski earned Poland a 3-2 victory.

Elsewhere, Diogo Jota was afforded only two minutes in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Croatia in the UEFA Nations League, replacing match-winner Cristiano Ronaldo late on.

Alexis Mac Allister scored in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Chile in their World Cup qualifier, before departing the field with what manager Lionel Scaloni described as “discomfort.”