While Nelson is excited for the future, all eyes are firmly on Friday’s first leg at Inver Park.
Playing in a game of this magnitude will be a new experience to many of Oxtoby’s squad, with only 11 of those who featured at Euro 2022 involved in the current squad.
The arrival of Oxtoby in the summer of 2023 has seen a swift shift in transition, with Nelson one of a number of experienced players who are no longer involved.
“It’s part of the natural transition that was going to happen after the Euros given the age of some of the players,” said Nelson, who added “it always happens in football”.
“It has happened quite quickly and it has given opportunities now for younger players to come in and stake their claim.”
Now cheering the team on from outside the playing group, Nelson says it would be “an incredible achievement” if Northern Ireland could make more history.
“It’s going to be a massive learning opportunity, especially for the younger players. Not many of them have been in a game like this before or this scenario.
“Playing against the top-quality players, you will learn what the demands are to play at that level.
“You need to do things quicker, you need to think quicker and you need to react quicker, and it raises the game for you as an individual and you see the standard you need to get to if you want to compete against those teams.
“To qualify once for Northern Ireland was massive, but to do it again would just be incredible.”