O'Neill and Donley will miss Budapest, where a draw sends Northern Ireland to League A

Northern Ireland need only a draw in Budapest on Tuesday to reach League A of the Nations League for the first time, but they will try to get it without their manager on the touchline or the striker who has led their line. Michael O'Neill and Jamie Donley were both booked during Saturday's 1-0 win over Ukraine at Windsor Park, and both are suspended for the Group B2 decider against Hungary.

Before Saturday, Northern Ireland had not conceded in the campaign, but they had not scored at home either: both of their earlier games in Belfast, against Hungary and Georgia, finished 0-0. Donley thought he had ended that run in the 23rd minute, only for VAR to rule him fractionally offside. Anatoliy Trubin then made a double save from Donley and Shea Charles.

The breakthrough came in the 68th minute. After Trai Hume forced a corner, Ethan Galbraith teed up Terry Devlin, and the 23-year-old Portsmouth defender beat Trubin from distance for his first international goal. "He's a bit of a dream for a manager and he has the ability to contribute goals," O'Neill told BBC Sport.

Pierce Charles still had to deny Danylo Sikan from close range at the death. It was Northern Ireland's fifth straight clean sheet, the first time they had managed that since 2017, according to Sky Sports, and the 21-year-old goalkeeper has now gone 466 minutes without conceding for his country. The result also eliminated Ukraine, who lost three straight games for the first time in six years.

Both yellow cards came from reactions to French referee François Letexier. Donley was booked becuase he protested when play was not stopped while Hume was bleeding from a cut on his head, a decision O'Neill called a "poor yellow." A few minutes later the manager followed him into the book after reacting to a foul on Ciaron Brown.

"The referee doesn't like my reaction and there's not much I can do about that," O'Neill said. "I would assume that I'm going to have to watch the game from the stands, but I'll be able to influence it from there, I'm sure." On Donley, he added: "I thought Jamie had a very good game for us. He'll be a blow for us."

Northern Ireland go into the last round one point ahead of Hungary, who won 2-0 in Georgia earlier on Saturday with two goals in the final 17 minutes. A draw or better wins the group and automatic promotion. Even a defeat leaves them in a promotion play-off in March, and they have already secured a pot two place in the Euro 2028 qualifying draw.

The size of the jump is easy to miss. Before this campaign, Northern Ireland had won one of 16 Nations League games in League B. On Saturday, O'Neill started an XI with an average age of 22.9 and eight players aged 23 or younger. "For a nation of our size, with our players at this stage of their careers, to have a chance to win the group and also to be playing Nations League A is a big achievement," he said.

O'Neill has also set a target beyond the point: finishing the campaign without conceding at all. If Northern Ireland do that in Budapest, they would reach League A with a clean record and a Euro 2028 play-off route as a backup, with their manager watching it all from the stands.