Northern Ireland vs Germany. FIFA World Cup European Qualifying Group C.
Windsor Park.
Friday 6 October 2017 08:13, UK
Germany booked their place at Russia 2018 with a classy 3-1 victory over Northern Ireland at Windsor Park.
Sebastian Rudy's rocket put the world champions ahead inside two minutes before Sandro Wagner underlined their dominance with a fine second midway through the first half.
Northern Ireland steadied after the break, and asked real questions of Germany as Conor Washington struck the bar, but Joshua Kimmich wrapped up a convincing victory four minutes from time before Josh Magennis pulled one back with the final kick of the game.
But there was no denying Germany as they inflicted Northern Ireland's first home defeat in four years to finish top of Group C, whether or not Michael O'Neill's men will join them at next summer's World Cup looks set to be determined in the play-offs.
Northern Ireland entered the game with an outside chance of automatically qualifying ahead of Germany, but Rudy's unstoppable drive with barely two minutes on the clock allayed any lingering fears for the visitors, and heralded the start of an imperious display from Joachim Low's side.
Michael McGovern pulled off a stunning save to claw a Wagner header away three minutes later as the Germans laid siege to the hosts' goal, before a second header from the Hoffenheim striker cannoned off the woodwork on 17 minutes.
And it was only a matter of time before Wagner finally got on the scoresheet as he controlled and swivelled on the edge of the area, before firing high past McGovern to underline Germany's dominance.
Corry Evans spurned Northern Ireland's best chance of the half six minutes before the break, firing straight at Marc-Andre ter Stegen after poorly controlling a Magennis cross.
Michael O'Neill reverted to a back four at half-time in an attempt to get back into the game, but it was Germany who maintained the threat as Wagner drew another fine save from McGovern on 51 minutes.
The introduction of Washington saw Northern Ireland pose a greater threat in attack, with the QPR striker striking the woodwork on 77 minutes, but Kimmich ended any hopes of a comeback with a cute finish from a narrow angle before Magennis grabbed a consolation with the last kick.
Michael O'Neill: We were great in the second half, especially after being 2-0 down against that level of opposition. 3-0 would have been harsh, we deserved the goal in the end but it was very difficult. We lost a goal early to a phenomenal strike, and the game plan we had in mind went out of the window after a minute and 20 seconds. That knocked us back in the first 15-20 minutes and it took us a while to get going. We clawed our way back in and what we gave in the second half was fantastic.
The Bayern Munich star underlined his growing reputation with a fine display. The 22-year-old was a potent attacking force both charging down the right and cutting inside. He linked well with the midfield and Northern Ireland's wing-backs struggled to deal with him. He capped his display with a deserved goal in the closing minutes.
Northern Ireland end their World Cup qualification campaign away in Norway on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Football, while Germany look to make it 10 wins from 10 when Azerbaijan travel to Kaiserslautern.
