Gareth McAuley admits he would settle for a narrow victory against San Marino when Northern Ireland face them in their World Cup qualifier. Kyler Murray Youth Jersey . One of the lowest-ranked sides in world football, the principality have conceded 17 goals in their last two away games.They now visit Belfast to face a Northern Irish side playing at Windsor Park for the first time since its renovation was complete. As such, a sell-out crowd of over 18,000 will be in attendance which will include high-profile figures such as FIFA president Gianni Infantino and boxing world champion Carl Frampton.Despite the hype and excitement, McAuley will settle for simply beating a team which has never won a competitive game and failed to avoid defeat in any World Cup qualifiers over the last 15 years. Northern Ireland will play at Windsor Park for the first time since its redevelopment was completed The West Brom defender said: It is a must-win game. Id expect all the other teams in the group to beat San Marino home and away so we are going to have to do that if were going to give ourselves any chance.The Faroes was the same scenario in the last campaign; if you dont do that, then forget about. So that means there is a pressure on us. Weve got to stay patient on how we approach it.We need the crowd to stay with us and be patient, too. If it is a goal in the last minute and we win 1-0 then job done.Obviously wed like to win by more but the days of doing that in international football are probably gone. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. I wont be disappointed if we dont put on a great performance against San Marino but come out with a 1-0 win, not at all.Ive been to Luxembourg and lost. Ive been to the Faroes and drew down the years. Yes, everyone wants to entertain but the most important thing is to get three points from that game. It doesnt matter how we do it as long as we do.Previous Northern Ireland teams McAuley has been a part of have struggled against the lesser lights of international football.In the previous World Cup qualification campaign, both Luxembourg and Azerbaijan defeated Northern Ireland in their own countries.There was no such misfortune avoided in the run-up to Euro 2016, however, when Michael ONeills side claimed 10 points from fixtures with the Faroe Islands and Finland.McAuley added: Id like to think we have learned our lesson from previous campaigns over the years and how we do things. Northern Ireland took 10 points out of 12 from their qualifiers with Finland and Faroe Islands ahead of Euro 2016 If we are our own worst enemy in the game, we wont get anything from it. But if we make the right choices and do the right things then we have enough but that is down to us players on the pitch.After Luxembourg we hit a low against the team wed expect to beat. But we are in a good place now and we are making the right decisions on the pitch now.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: N Ireland latest N Ireland fixtures N Ireland stats Table Live on Sky Andy Isabella Jersey . Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees. Zach Allen Jersey . While the pair of Spain internationals return, midfielder Xavi Hernandez will not be included in the squad after failing to recover from a muscle strain to his left leg. http://www.thecardinalsshoponline.com/hakeem-butler-cardinals-jersey-zj/ . 1 Pete Sampras. Speaking ahead of an exhibition match against Andre Agassi in London on March 3, Sampras said on a conference call Wednesday that he is impressed by Federers longevity.TORONTO -- While his players and Leaf Nation might be looking forward to Wednesdays Winter Classic against Detroit, Toronto coach Randy Carlyle is playing the role of Scrooge when it comes to the holiday season outdoor game. "I wasnt waving the pom-poms to be involved with it to start with," Carlyle said after a 5-2 win over Carolina on Sunday night. "Its been a trying time. "Specifically we havent played as well as wed like to hang our hat on. Our group, we believe, has got lots of room to grow, so that always put added pressure on. And then youre much more under the microscope if you can believe it. Were under the microscope with you (media) guys alone and then you add the element of HBO and then the event, theres a lot of factors. "Again were here to win hockey games and thats the most important thing and our focus is going to be on the game." Friends and family will be enjoying the event more than the actual participants, he suggested. The Leafs (20-16-5) head to Ann Arbor, Mich., on a winning note and having picked up points in their last five games. But they needed a pair of goals from sniper Phil Kessel, solid goaltending from Jonathan Bernier and a few lucky bounces to dispose of the Hurricanes before a crowd of 19,452 at the Air Canada Centre. Carolina (14-16-9) outshot Toronto 43-27 on the night, only to see its winless streak stretch to five games. The Hurricanes have won only one of their last nine outings (a stretch that has featured four OT losses). "We had enough chances to win a hockey game," lamented Carolina coach Kirk Muller. "The chances were there. They scored and we didnt." Carlyle agreed it had been a loose performance from the Leafs. "I thought at times we seemed like we were overmatched in a lot of areas," he said. The Hurricanes followed a popular, simple strategy against Toronto -- dumping the puck in and forcing the Leafs to play defence. "We havent been able to handle that or manage the game properly in that area and we have to get better at it," Carlyle said. Kessels second goal allowed him to reach the 20-goal plateau for the sixth straight season and he could have had more on the night, missing on two breakaways. Toronto also got goals from Nikolai Kulemin, Paul Ranger and Dion Phaneuf, with an empty-net goal with eight seconds remaining. Nathan Gerbe and Justin Faulk replied for Carolina. Centre Tyler Bozak returned to the Leafs top line after a 12-game absence due to an oblique injury. He showed off some of his playmaking skills with three assists and made an important backcheck, snuffing out a Hurricanes threat. The Leafs were loose on defence and were fortunate the Hurricanes did not punish them more. "We had some lapses in the D-zone," said Bozak. "We got some good bounces as well ... The puck was kind of following us around tonight." The game marked the halfway point of the season for Toronto, while setting the table for playing in front of an exxpected crowd of 100,000-plus at the Big House. Byron Murphy Womens Jersey. . "Its going to be a pretty cool event," said Bozak. "I know most guys have lots of family here, including me. Im excited to get to Detroit and see what its all about." Added Ranger: "I think its going to be fun ... Backyard rinks, thats where I spent most of my childhood. Its just a bigger backyard rink." Leafs forward David Clarkson went to the dressing room in the second period to have his elbow stitched up but returned in the third healthy enough to smash Tuomo Ruutu to the ice. "Probably the best period of hockey hes played for us," said Carlyle. The Leafs previous four games were shootouts -- a club-record streak that featured two wins and two losses. After surviving a horrendous start against Buffalo to win via a shootout Friday, it seemed like more of the same Sunday for the Leafs. Leading the league in giveaways with 475 going into the game, Toronto coughed it up 15 more times against the Hurricanes. Toronto also did not manage a shot on net until 11-plus minutes into a first period that saw the Leafs wobble at times in their own end. Bernier seemed the lone defender on duty and Toronto was lucky not to go down. The Leafs went ahead after a faceoff when Bozak dug the puck out to Kessel, whose backhand from behind the goal-line somehow went in off goalie Cam Ward for his 19th of the season at 16:56. It was perhaps payback for the freak goal that gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 win in Toronto in October when a bad bounce off the boards on a shoot-in bounced in off Bernier with the Leafs thinking icing might be called. The five-foot-five Gerbe tied it up at 1:36 of the second period after talking a pass from Alexander Semin in the corner and beating Bernier from near the faceoff dot. Semin outmanoeuvred Jake Gardiner to set up Gerbes ninth goal. Toronto pulled ahead with two goals in 76 seconds in the second period. A pretty passing play between Kessel and James Van Riemsdyk made it 2-1 at 13:42 with JVR unselfishly sending the puck back to Kessel from in-close. Kulemin then beat Ward with a shot from the top of the circle at 14:58 to make it 3-1, prompting Muller to call a timeout in a bid to stop the bleeding. It was Kulemins fifth of the season. A four-on-three helped the Carolina cause with Faulk scoring his third of the season on a slap shot with 2:17 remaining in the period to close the gap to 3-2. Ranger added an insurance goal at 4:58 of the third, firing a low shot through traffic that eluded Ward for the defencemans second goal of the season and the 100th point of his NHL career. For Toronto, it was Berniers 28th appearance of the season, compared to 18 for James Reimer. Bernier has started nine of the last 15 games, with Reimer pulled during two of his six starts during that stretch. Carlyle refused to interpret the numbers when asked what it meant that Bernier had started three straight. "Hes played three straight games. That what it says." ' ' '