Michael O'Neill admits he has no option but to go with youth as he looks to build a Northern Ireland team for the future.
The average age of the side that ended Friday night's 1-1 draw with Switzerland was just 22 years old.
O'Neill handed debuts to Portsmouth's Terry Devlin and Tottenham Hotspur's Jamie Donley in the second half, the latest young starlets to earn game time on the senior stage.
READ NEXT: Managers react to incident involving Carrick goalkeeper and ball boy during game
READ NEXT: Northern Ireland boss O'Neill hails his young guns after Swiss stalemate
The dynamic of Northern Ireland 's squad has witnessed a seismic shift in recent years, following the retirement of legendary figures including Steven Davis, Jonny Evans and Stuart Dallas.
Now the focus is on the likes of Pierce and Shea Charles, Trai Hume, Brodie Spencer, Ethan Galbraith, Dale Taylor, Isaac Price and others.
O'Neill said: "Young Terry Devlin came on and handled the Swiss game well. Jamie Donley is a high level youth player. To get him in has been brilliant for us.
"We have had to grow this team from a certain level. Usually you have more senior players as a support level, but we don't have that here.
"I believe these are the best players we have at this moment in time. A few have missed out, and some are injured. But these are the players we are going with.
"We are monitoring the top three leagues in England and elsewhere, and we are monitoring 36 players to pick our squad from."
READ MORE: Viktor Gyokeres absence a plus for Trai Hume, but other Swedish stars lie in wait
READ MORE: 'Brilliant' Ethan Galbraith rising to the mark with Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland are back in action tomorrow night with a trip to the Strawberry Arena to take on Sweden.
It is another major challenge against a side that features Premier League stars Alexander Isak and Anthong Elanga.
The Swedes did suffer a shock defeat to Luxembourg on Saturday evening, and will be keen to bounce back against O'Neill's men.
The Northern Ireland boss said: "We don't have the ability to change the team dramatically. We just have to look at freshening it up in key areas.
"When your attackers have to do a lot without the ball it takes it out of them, so we might freshen things up there.
"We will have a look but Sweden are a good side. I am not sure if Isak will play or not. And (Viktor) Gyökeres is out.
"But we will take confidence from Friday's game."
O'Neill added: "People will be surprised by the calibre of players Sweden have, and see them in League C of the Nations League. But they have a wave of players now playing at a high level.
"Even Anthony Elanga at Nottingham Forest, Dejan Kulusevski at Tottenham, both fantastic players. It will be tough game and we will have to be disciplined and dogged without the ball."
Join Belfast Live’s new Irish League WhatsApp group. Click this link to receive the latest Irish League headlines and breaking news direct to your phone. We also treat our members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our group, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice
