Worthington warns of the folly of underestimating Faroe Islands

Nigel Worthington has given his players a history lesson in the hope they will not be embarrassed as he once was with Northern Ireland.

Worthington played at left-back when the Faroe Islands held Northern Ireland to a draw at Windsor Park in a European Championship qualifier, a match the home side had been expected to win comfortably. Tomorrow, 19 years on, Northern Ireland travel to Toftir with important points again at stake and once more clear favourites.

Worthington is anxious his side improve on their tally of four points following a win against Slovenia and a goalless draw with Italy, and will not let them take anything for granted. Reflecting on the drawn match in 1991, Worthington said yesterday: "I remember it was a Saturday afternoon when we don't perform that well. It was quite warm.

"I was part of a team that thought maybe it was going to be easy. You cannot afford to do that. If you go into any game thinking it is going to be easy I always think you can get surprised. After a decent start that is the last thing we want. There is still a lot of football to be played. There will be a lot of tough games.

"It is not about revenge on the Faroes. It is just about being professional and doing our job properly."