Spain defeat can be 'massive lesson' for NI - Bradley

Northern Ireland's Conor Bradley says his side's 5-1 conclusion to Spain connected Saturday tin beryllium a "massive lesson" arsenic they look to build a broadside tin of playing astatine nan 2026 World Cup.

Qualifying for that tourney starts successful March, earlier which Michael O'Neill's broadside will play Andorra successful a friends connected Tuesday, followed by Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Belarus successful Nations League games this autumn.

Northern Ireland did return nan lead successful Palma, scoring done Daniel Ballard aft conscionable 69 seconds, but Bradley felt that their hosts' "class showed" thereafter.

"We'll beryllium playing personification for illustration that successful World Cup qualification truthful it's a monolithic instruction for america and we request to study from it quickly," said nan 20-year-old Liverpool player.

"Hopefully erstwhile nan clip comes, we'll beryllium fresh for it and hopefully pinch much players playing successful nan Premier League, nan Championship and astatine a higher level truthful we're amended equipped for it erstwhile it does come."

While Spain spent ample passages of nan crippled looking wholly comfortable connected nan ball, Northern Ireland surely unsettled Luis de la Fuente's broadside successful nan opening minutes.

Bradley won nan free-kick that led to Ballard's extremity by harrying Robin Le Normand and soon aft nan Real Sociedad defender was booked for halting a antagonistic onslaught done a foul connected nan aforesaid player.

Rodri was besides caught successful possession early on, starring to different Northern Ireland chance.

"We started nan crippled brilliantly," said Bradley.

"We were connected nan beforehand foot, we dispossessed them successful their half a mates of times and nan early extremity evidently helped."

Even aft Spain seized power of nan crippled pinch 4 goals successful 23 first-half minutes, Standard Liege midfielder Isaac Price still had 2 existent sights astatine Unai Simon's extremity but could person neither.

"We astir apt could person scored 3 goals," added Bradley.

"The measurement we play, we're rather direct, we get nan shot guardant and effort to create worldly erstwhile we're up there.

"There were plentifulness of positives, but decidedly immoderate negatives that we request to study from. It's disappointing. I didn't deliberation we deserved to concede arsenic galore goals arsenic we did.

"They're a world people squad and they're astir apt going complete to effort and triumph nan Euros."

St Mirren midfielder Caolan Boyd-Munce recovered retired connected nan greeting of nan crippled that he would beryllium making his world debut astatine nan Son Moix Stadium, describing Spain arsenic "comfortably" nan champion guidance he has faced successful his career.

"You person to meet it caput on, it's descend aliases swim," he said. "There's thing to suffer and everything to summation from games for illustration this. There's nary constituent going successful pinch a stubborn cognition that we deliberation we are something.

"That was ne'er nan case. We wanted to spell in, put our champion ft guardant and spot what we could summation from it."

It was nan 24-year-old's set-piece transportation that created Ballard's extremity successful what was a dream preamble to world shot conscionable complete a infinitesimal into his first cap.

"We poked nan bear," he added of nan early lead.

"There's truthful overmuch learning location for us. On nan ball, disconnected nan ball, really speedy they move it, really small they move which is simply a accomplishment successful itself.

"I'm looking guardant to watching it backmost because there'll beryllium truthful overmuch to learn."