EURO 2020 Qualifier: Northern Ireland -v- Germany

NORTHERN IRELAND

Michael O'Neill's men have done everything asked of them so far in this campaign - winning all four of their EURO 2020 qualifiers - but they will be truly tested in Belfast on Monday night with Germany coming to town.

Monday's game begins a stiff examination for the North who will conclude their qualifiers by taking on Germany and the Netherlands home and away. Germany come into the game on the back of a defeat last week against the Dutch and O'Neill admitted that is probably the result that he didn’t want to see.

“We probably would have preferred a Germany win but we just have to get as many points as we can,” said O'Neill at Sunday’s pre-match press conference. 

“We probably need six points out of the four games. Germany will react to their defeat against Holland. We just have to prepare ourselves.”

The game could well be a landmark for Steven Davis, who O'Neill described as "a role model for all footballers", as if selected he is set to earn his 113^th international appearance - the most for an Northern Ireland outfield player - and just six behind all-time record holder Pat Jennings.

The Rangers player admitted he wasn’t thinking about the record ahead of the game. "Every time I pull on the jersey it is a very proud moment for me. Some of my best memories in football have been here in Windsor in the Northern Ireland shirt. 

"I'm not thinking too much about it as hopefully I can play on for a little while longer. There is more to come. It is a huge achievement and whenever I stop playing football I will look back on it and be very proud."

Last Thursday, Norn Iron earned a 1-0 friendly win over Luxembourg but Monday is a very different task. Germany have scored three or more goals in each of their last four visits to the National Stadium at Windsor Park. The most recent meeting, in October 2017, ended with a 3-1 win for Germany in the World Cup qualifier.

"We have got ourselves into a really good position in the group and now we need to embrace the games coming up.

"Germany have proved to be very stern opposition for us. We know about their quality. They are games that we relish and we don’t underestimate the difficulty. Hopefully we can make it one of the special nights here in Windsor." 

GERMANY

Germany are a wounded animal coming to Belfast after their 4-2 loss to the Dutch in Hamburg last Friday night. 

"Obviously we are disappointed about the result, but if we’re being honest it was a fair result," was the honest assessment of Joachim Loew after the game.

"The Netherlands were the better team, and we were below par for the entire game. We lost the ball a lot and our link-up play often didn't come off so well. We were losing the ball up front and lots of passes were going all the way back to Manuel Neuer."

Die Mannschaft sit in second place three points behind the North and three clear of the Netherlands who have a game in hand. Loew's team is very much focused on the win in Belfast and the three points that would put them top of the group.

"It means we have to win the game in Northern Ireland. We need to approach the game with the attitude that we will leave the pitch as winners. 

"We'll need to change our tactics against Northern Ireland. They play a completely different type of football to the Netherlands – they are incredibly physical, solid and play lots of long balls.

"They will sit deeper, which means we’ll have less room up front. We have to prepare ourselves for this. We need to find tactical solutions for this game."

It was a tough defeat to take last week as the Germans had won their previous 14 consecutive qualification games across EURO and World Cup qualifiers. 

"Northern Ireland are not an easy opponent, but our task is to take home all three points tomorrow. The team know that."

Loew confirmed on the eve of the game that Neuer will continue in goal so there won't be a start for Barcelona ‘keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. With Ilkay Guendogan suffering from a cold, he along with Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schulz, will miss the game. 

Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy)

MATCH STATS

Germany have won the sides' last seven meetings and this was preceded by three consecutive 1-1 draws. The North’s last win over the visitors came prior to German re-unification. They earned a 1-0 win over West Germany in November 1983 when Norman Whiteside got the only goal in the game played in Hamburg.

Germany have scored in their last eight matches, netting 22 goals and averaging nearly three per game.

Oliver Bierhoff scored the fastest hattrick for Germany netting three goals in the 1997 World Cup qualifier in Belfast across a seven minute period. He came on as a 70^thsub and three minutes later he scored the first goal in his hat-trick.

BETTING

Northern Ireland 9/1; Draw 9/2; Germany 2/9.

PREDICTION

Northern Ireland 0 - 2 Germany 

Northern Ireland

Injured: Jordan Jones, Michael Smith, Paul Smyth.
Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.

Germany

Injured: Ilkay Guendogan, Nico Schulz, Leon Goretzka
Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.

Reporter Macdara Ferris and photographer John-Paul McGinley will be covering the game for extratime.ie from Belfast on Monday night. 

Sheffield United duo McGoldrick and Robinson to miss Bulgaria friendly with injury https://t.co/ceCkETtm8Lpic.twitter.com/rfhJ7Lc6Hp

— Extratime.ie (@ExtratimeNews) September 6, 2019