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     In one of the more surprising stories in European world cup qualification so far, Northern Ireland have registered just a single point, after losing 2-0 in Slovenia on Saturday. Nigel Worthington's squad came off a roller coaster Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, which saw them shoot up the rankings while beating Euro 2008 winners Spain and defeating and tying the other qualifier from their group, Sweden. David Healy scored a stunning 13 goals to lead the competition in that category, and received a special award from UEFA. However, inconsistency was the bane of the campaign; two losses to Iceland and an untimely loss to Latvia meant that Norn Iron, leaders of the group at the halfway point, would not travel to Austria and Switzerland to compete in the finals. After positive shows of progression, Northern Irish fans came into World Cup Qualifying with hopes of making it to South Africa, despite having Poland and the Czech Republic in their group. Confidence was high for their opening match against Slovakia in Bratislava, but disappointment reigned as a dire performance resulted in a 2-1 loss with very few positives to be taken out of the match; Jan Durica put into his own net for their only goal. Their next match proved to be better, as they gained a hard-fought point against the Czechs at Windsor Park, although the famous fan support seemed to be lacking as only a little more than 12,000 showed up. Already falling behind, many thought that Worthington would fix whatever tactical difficulties his side was having and three points would be gained in Maribor Saturday. However, two late goals meant an overall good performance from NI was all for naught, and their road woes continued; they've only recorded two wins out of the last 31 competitive away matches. And although it is good to have a stronghold like Windsor, if they are to make up ground this record will have to improve and quick, as Poland and Slovenia sit joint-top with 7 points, and Slovakia lie second with 6. The Czech Republic remain tied with NI with just 1 point, however they do have a game in hand. NI are second from basement over traditional European whipping-boys San Marino, who have a game in hand. Healy and co will look to get back on track Wednesday in Belfast against San Marino, who they will play again in the first match of next year. Already the press has been working itself into a frenzy with the hypothetical "what if they lose" scenarios, which would be plain disastrous, and Worthington has said "It won't be as easy as people expect, and I'll just be happy if we win 1-0 and get three points on the board." Even an away draw against NI would probably go down as San Marino's most noteworthy result to date, beating out their only win, a 1-0 result over Lichtenstein in 2004. They are often the butt of many jokes, but as miniscule as it may seem, La Serenissima have shown signs of improvement in recent years, having narrowly lost 2-1 to the Republic of Ireland in early 2007 and even scoring a goal last week against Slovakia in a 3-1 loss. NI and Rangers marksman Kyle Lafferty took note of this, saying "San Marino aren't thrashed on a regular basis anymore." Not exactly praise, but three points against San Marino isn't so much of a guarantee as it once was, especially for a Northern Ireland side that are under pressure from fans and media to turn it around. Expect Worthington to have his men attacking right off the bat, and I would expect Giampaolo Mazza to set up shop for a point, defense from the first whistle. Maik Taylor shouldn't be tested too much in goal for Norn Iron, but you never know with a breakaway so he'll have to be alert at all times. Jonny Evans will miss the match through suspension, so Chris Baird may revert back to his natural defensive position, opening up a starting spot in midfield. My pick is Dean Shiels. The Hibernian man has been in good form so far this year, and his pace and attacking ability could spark Northern Ireland to a few goals. Healy and Lafferty are locks to start up front.  Here is the team I think Worthington will go with

Taylor

 McAuley, Hughes, Baird, McCartney

Gillespie Davis Shiels? McCann

Healy Lafferty

When the next round of matches begin in February, Northern Ireland again take on San Marino, this time at the Stadio Olimpico, which will most likely be packed with away fans. No less than six points from these two matches will be acceptable, and a misstep means he could join Howard Wells in unemployment, who was fired today as Chief Executive of the IFA. NI then take on Poland and Slovenia in a home double-header, which will be crucial if they've any hope of making it back up the table.

- Andrew McCarten