Northern Ireland's outside hopes of promotion to League A were ended by a 3-0 defeat by Iceland in the rescheduled Nations League play-off second leg.

The relegation/promotion play-off return was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but postponed due to heavy snow in Reykjavik.

Iceland held a two-goal lead from the first leg in Ballymena on Friday and Sveindis Jonsdottir opened the scoring in the 32nd minute.

It was 2-0 on the night when Hlin Eiriksdottir's looping header found the back of the net just shy of the hour mark.

Emilia Asgeirsdottir's penalty added a third as Iceland retained their League A status with a 5-0 aggregate success.

The loss over two legs condemned Tanya Oxtoby's side to League B in qualifying for the 2027 World Cup, which begins in February.

Oxtoby had called the postponement of the second leg a "challenging day" and fresh snow had to be cleared off the artificial surface at Throttarvollur before kick-off.

It was always going to be a difficult ask for an injury-hit and youthful Northern Ireland to stun the Euro 2025 participants in the second leg, but they pressed forward in the early stages without worrying the hosts' goal.

With Inter Milan's Karolina Lea Vilhjalmsdottir pulling the strings, it wasn't long before the hosts got into their stride

Visiting keeper Jackie Burns, player of the match from the first leg, was called into action to keep out a low effort from Hildur Antonsdottir, and she then denied Glodis Viggosdottir from the resulting corner.

Vilhjalmsdottir curled an effort just wide from the edge of the area and Sandra Jessen missed a glorious chance when she headed wide from six yards.

But Iceland took a deserved lead when Eriksdottir beat Caragh Hamilton, and her low cross was touched into the path of Jonsdottir and the Angel City forward hammered the ball into the top corner.

Northern Ireland had a superb opportunity to equalise on the night two minutes after the restart when Joely Andrews won the ball high up the pitch and found Kascie Weir, but her first touch was heavy and goalkeeper Cecilia Runarsdottir was brave to dive at the feet of the striker.

But the game was put to bed on 58 minutes as Northern Ireland conceded from a set-piece for the third time in the tie.

Jonsdottir's long throw was flicked on and Eiriksdottir's looping header was beyond the reach of Burns.

Alexandra Johannsdottir fired over from range as Iceland continued to press, and Gudrun Arnardottir dragged an effort wide shortly after.

Things went from bad to worse on 73 minutes for the visitors when Nadine Caldwell fouled Vilhjalmsdottir in the area, and Asgeirsdottir fired home the resulting penalty.

Northern Ireland ended the game well and some good work by Leyla McFarland and Rebecca McKenna created a chance for Emily Wilson, but her effort was well blocked by Asgeirsdottir.

The Nations League was created by Uefa to have less one-sided matches and more competitive games between teams with similar ability.

In that sense it has succeeded, but it has also created a difficult situation for nations like Northern Ireland.

Oxtoby's side are too good for League C, but cannot crack that elusive top tier.

They have been in League B for every iteration of the Nations League or qualifying for major tournaments, and the latest play-off, along with defeats by Portugal, Norway and Poland, shows there is still work to do to join the top table.

That is the biggest challenge for Oxtoby going forward.

She was missing several key names - including captain Simone Magill and defender Laura Rafferty - for the play-off and it was a youthful squad across both legs.

Iceland dominated possession in both games but hardly laid siege on Burns' goal. They were clinical with their chances and capitalised on their height advantage for three out of the five goals.

Another League B campaign awaits for NI, and if they are to reach the 2027 World Cup they will have to finally overcome top-tier opposition.

This young squad should improve going forward, but it is a challenge with no easy answers for Oxtoby if they are to really compete to reach major tournaments or League A in the near future.

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