Northern Ireland take on Switzerland in their opening game of 2025. Michael O'Neill's side haven't been in action since earning promotion in the Nations League last November.
They topped a group including Belarus, Bulgaria and Luxembourg, and O'Neill will be hoping his players can continue building momentum in what is an important year.
That's because the World Cup qualifiers are lurking on the horizon. Northern Ireland will meet Luxembourg once again, as well as Slovakia and either Germany or Italy.
The Swiss are familiar opponents for O'Neill. They beat Northern Ireland in a World Cup playoff back in 2017 - who remembers that controversial penalty decision against Corry Evans?
The sides also met in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. The sides played out a 0-0 draw at Windsor before Switzerland recorded a 2-0 win in Geneva.
Tonight's visitors are much changed from those days, and have gone seven games without victory since beating Italy at last year's Euros.
Who will prevail tonight? We will bring you live updates from the game.
17:18Gareth Fullerton
Hume backs newcomers to shine for NI
Trai Hume has backed new arrivals Ronan Hale and Jamie Donley to shine for Northern Ireland.
Ross County striker Hale recently secured his switch from the Republic of Ireland while Tottenham Hotspur forward Donley has been granted permission from FIFA to make the move from England.
The 20-year-old, who hails from Antrim, has represented England and Northern Ireland at underage level and is currently on-loan at Leyton Orient.
Hume says both players have enjoyed seamless transitions and believes their desire to join Northern Ireland is evidence of the country's progress on the pitch.
He said:
"It's a chance for them to prove themselves and show their quality at international level. For us, it's a credit to us as a team that they want to come in and be a part of this.
"They want to get themselves international caps with us and it's a credit to us as a team and staff that they can see we are trying to progress and move this team forward.
"In the last few days in training they have been excellent and training hard."
Full story HERE
17:17Gareth Fullerton
Smyth opens up on injury nightmare that almost forced him to quit
Paul Smyth almost quit football three years ago following a nightmare run of injuries including a collapsed lung, but insists he wouldn't change any part of his career.
It was during his time at Leyton Orient that Smyth was plagued by hamstring issues, and then he broke his baby toe.
He finally returned to action before suffering a collapsed lung during a freak incident in a game against Mansfield.
He said:
“I felt like quitting football at that stage. It was just one thing after another. The first game of the season I did my hamstring and I was out for two months. I came back from it and did my other hamstring and was out for another two months. I came back again and did both hamstrings again and then broke my baby toe!
“Then when I finally returned from that I ended up with a collapsed lung and at that time I just thought, ‘I’m done’."
Read full story HERE
17:14Gareth Fullerton
Tonight's betting odds
N Ireland 16/5Switzerland 4/5Draw 23/10
17:14Gareth Fullerton
Is this game on TV?
Yes, the game is being shown live on BBC Two Northern Ireland. It can also be streamed on the BBC iPlayer.
17:11KEY EVENT
Welcome!
Welcome to our live blog.
We will bring you live updates from Northern Ireland vs Switzerland at Windsor Park.
It is a big friendly game which will evoke plenty of memories for fans.
Let's hope Northern Ireland can enjoy some success this time.
English (United States) ·