Azerbaijan and Northern Ireland will face off in the World Cup qualifiers on Friday.
Both teams have been officially eliminated from contention and are playing out the slate in hopes of improving their respective FIFA rankings.
Northern Ireland sits in fourth place in the group with one win, three draws, and four losses. The club has scored eight goals and conceded 14. The team's first qualifier was a 2-0 loss against Russia on the road. Fortunately Northern Ireland bounced back and earned a 1-1 draw against Luxembourg thanks to a goal from Dean Shiels. In its third game Northern Ireland did the unthinkable and drew 1-1 in Portugal; Nail McGinn scored in the 30th minute for Northern Ireland and the team could have won if not for a 79thminute tally from Helder Postiga. A 1-1 draw with Azerbaijan followed thanks to a 96th minute goal from David Healy. In its fifth game, Northern Ireland lost 2-0 against Israel before stunning the world with a 1-0 victory over mighty Russia. The team then nearly defeated Portugal at home but Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick in a 4-2 final in favor of the Iberians. The team's most recent match was a 3-2 loss against Luxembourg.
Azerbaijan sits in last place in the group with five points. Azerbaijan has yet to win a match but has drawn five times throughout the group stage.
Prediction: The sides draw 1-1.
Start Time: 12 p.m. EST
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