Liverpool's Conor Bradley 'had goosebumps' after setting new Northern Ireland record

Conor Bradley on Tuesday night, and said afterwards that captaining his country was one of the biggest honors of his life.

The right-back, who only turned 21 in July, became Northern Ireland's youngest-ever captain against Belarus over the weekend, breaking a record that was previously set by Steven Davis, who was a month older than is now when he led his team out for a friendly against Uruguay in 2006.

Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill has been rotating the captaincy in recent games following the retirements from international football of Davis and Jonny Evans in recent years, and .

Bradley has already represented his country 20 times, and speaking after the win over Bulgaria, he said: "It's special and a privilege to be able to wear the armband, especially for this team as everyone works so hard for each other. It's a pleasure to be the captain and walking out tonight was a really special moment. I had goosebumps. I've loved it and one of the biggest honours of my life."

The victory moved Northern Ireland to the top of Nations League C Group 3, leapfrogging both Bulgaria and Belarus, and puts O'Neill's men in pole position to top the group. Northern Ireland hosts Belarus before travelling to Luxembourg during the November international break, and victories in each of those matches will guarantee promotion to League B.

Bradley added: "Two massive games. We want to stay top of the group and we want to get out of League C. Hopefully we can put in performances like the last two games, keep scoring goals and keep clean sheets."

It's been a positive international break for Liverpool's right-backs, with . The 26-year-old earned the Player of the Match award for the third time in four appearances for England as he scored a stunning free-kick in Sunday's win over Finland in Helsinki.

The form of both players will give Arne Slot confidence heading into a crucial period of the season, when managing his squad as the fixtures come thick and fast will be key. Alexander-Arnold will of course expect to start when Chelsea visits Anfield on Sunday, but Bradley will expect game time in the weeks ahead, with matches against RB Leipzig, Arsenal, Brighton (twice), Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa all to come before the November international break.