Northern Ireland v Germany, Thurs 5th October

HEAD TO HEAD

Germany/West Germany have played Northern Ireland 16 times - in 11 competitive games and five friendlies. Northern Ireland have won two, drawn four and lost 10. The Germans have scored 35 goals against Northern Ireland, with the boys in green putting 13 past them down the years.

The games were: World Cup Finals West Germany 2-2 Northern Ireland 15.05.58 Sweden (Malmo) World Cup Qualifiers Germany 2-0 Northern Ireland 11.10.16 Hannover Northern Ireland 1- 3 Germany 20.08.97 Belfast Germany 1-1 Northern Ireland 0 9.11.96 Nuremberg  West Germany 2-1 Northern Ireland 10.05.61 Berlin Northern Ireland 3-4 West Germany 26.10.60 Belfast European Championship Finals Northern Ireland 0-1 Germany 21.06.16 France (Paris) Euros Qualifiers Germany 4-0 Northern Ireland 08.09.99 Dortmund Northern Ireland 0-3 Germany 27.03.99 Belfast West Germany 0-1 Northern Ireland 16.11.83 Hamburg Northern Ireland 1-0 West Germany 17.11.82 Belfast Friendlies Northern Ireland 1-4 Germany 04.06.05 Belfast Northern Ireland 1-1 Germany 29.05.96 Belfast Germany 1-1 Northern Ireland 02.06.92 Bremen West Germany 5-0 Northern Ireland 27.04.77 Cologne Northern Ireland 0-2 West Germany 07.05.66 Belfast

“It rates just above our victory in Spain (at the 1982 World Cup) when we qualified with 10 men for the second round, also with a 1-0 win. “I admit that the match against Spain was perhaps a more important game - we had a chance to progress in the World Cup. But Germany in 1983 was, in my opinion, a better team with better players. To be honest we were under much greater pressure, psychologically as well as physically, against Germany than against Spain.” Norman Whiteside said later: “Nobody who played in Hamburg will ever forget that evening when we defeated the German national team on their own patch.” And fellow striker Billy Hamilton said: “I think it was the only game I played in which I spent more time in our penalty area than in the opponents’ area. “I remember the game in Hamburg well, and also the one in Belfast the previous year. After our hard fought victory in Windsor Park the Germans were out for revenge, and I think that both teams were determined to win. It was a hard fought but fair game, in which every player gave 100%.” Before that historic night West Germany had never previously lost a World Cup or European Championship qualifier at home. And Northern Ireland remain the only team to have beaten the Germans home and away in either a World Cup or Euros qualifying campaign.

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