Michael O'Neill - It would be nice to go through this campaign and say that Germany are the only team to beat us.

While it was seven defeats in a row for Northern Ireland against Germany on Thursday night, manager Michael O’Neill was taking the positives from the loss to the World Champions.

“3-1 against a team of this calibre is respectably,” said O’Neill speaking to the media after the game in Windsor Park. His team had already secured second place in Group C coming into the match but still haven’t quite got over the line in terms of making the playoff.

“(The result) doesn’t damage our healthy goal difference in the second place table. All in all, you are disappointed to lose but every time I see this German team they seem to get better and better.”

Northern Ireland will be in that playoff possibly before they play Norway on Sunday. Should Bosnia & Herzegovina fail to beat Belgium and Greece don’t beat Cyprus on Saturday, that will be enough for the Green and White army to make the two game playoff.

In Belfast the Dutch referee Danny Makkelie, who was also in charge when Northern Ireland last lost a competitive home game which was four years ago, kept his cards in his pockets which means O’Neill has a full squad to choose from on Sunday. That may lead to difficulities in a playoff depending on the card situation on Sunday.

However the Northern Ireland manager stressed he wouldn’t be resting any players in Norway to try and prevent any suspensions for a prospective play-off.

“There is no guarantee that 13 points (in the second place table) will be enough (for a playoff). We have to make sure. We want to go out and try and get three points and certainly try and make sure we're not beaten.

“Equally we can't allow ourselves to field an inexperienced team and be beaten and suddenly lose out on goal difference. It is very important. We are on a tightrope with bookings.”

Northern Ireland carried great momentum into the game in Belfast having won a record five competitive matches in a row, sitting second in Group C with 19 points. 

Extratime.ie asked O’Neil about the importance of a win on Sunday to try and get some momentum back going into the expected playoff.

“We are second and that won’t change on Sunday. We’d like to get to 20 points but it would be fantastic to get to 22. Ultimately whatever happens in the playoff, it is a European tie across home and away so it is a different scenario from qualification.

“If the result was to go against us, we wouldn’t go into the playoff with any less confidence. Our confidence comes from the campaign that we have had. It would be nice to go through this campaign and say that Germany are the only team to beat us.”

The game in Windsor Park didn’t begin well for the home team. "It's the worst start we could have had," said manager Michael O’Neill about finding his side 1-0 down after 80 seconds.

"There's very little you could do about it if you look back at it,” said O’Neill about Sebastian Rudy’s goal from long distance. “The clearance could have been better but it was a quality strike so early in the game. A number of our players probably hadn't touched the ball.

"It never gave us a chance to settle into the game. The approach we had was designed to stay in the game as long as possible. You can't go and chase it too early against a team of this quality. So it made it difficult for us. It really knocked us back.

“Gradually we clawed our way into the game despite conceding the second goal. In the second half, we couldn’t have asked for any more. 3-0 would have been harsh so getting a goal back was a big goal for us.”

O’Neill, who was leading his national team for the 50^th game, has faced Joachim Low’s side three times in the last 17 months – losing all three matches (1-0 at the Euros, 2-0 in Hannover and the 3-1 defeat in Belfast). He isn’t betting against Germany retaining their World Cup crown.

"I would imagine in Russia, Germany are going to have a fantastic squad and possibly even a stronger squad than they had four years ago. It just seems there's a never-ending conveyor belt of talent coming through. They'll be a very formidable team to beat in Russia."

Well played, @NorthernIreland. Good luck in your final game and then in the play-offs too, we hope! #GAWA#DieMannschaft#NIRGERpic.twitter.com/xRF3gxTjV1

— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) October 5, 2017