Northern Ireland out to defy Germany

Northern Ireland's record in 14 meetings with Germany is not an encouraging one, but Billy Bingham's side's feats in 1984 UEFA European Championship qualifying could inspire them in Group C.

Previous meetings
• Northern Ireland's record against Germany is W2 D4 L8 (W2 D2 L5 in competitive games).

• Northern Ireland famously did the double over West Germany in the qualifying competition for the 1984 EURO finals, Ian Stewart scoring the only goal in Belfast and Norman Whiteside doing likewise in Hamburg.

• Current Northern Ireland assistant boss Jimmy Nicholl played in both of those fixtures.

• The only time the countries have come face to face at a major tournament was at the 1958 FIFA World Cup, when they drew 2-2 in a group stage encounter in Malmo. Both teams progressed to the quarter-finals.

• Just one match has been played between the sides this century – a June 2005 friendly in Belfast which Germany won 4-1 – but there will be two more in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

EURO facts – Northern Ireland
• Northern Ireland are featuring at their first EURO. They have not played at a major final tournament since bowing out of the 1986 World Cup at the group stage.

• Northern Ireland's greatest achievement to date is reaching the last eight of the 1958 World Cup finals, where they lost 4-0 to France in Norrkoping, Sweden.

EURO facts – Germany
• Germany are competing in their 12th successive EURO since missing out on the final tournament as West Germany, their first attempt, in 1968.

• EURO winners in 1972, 1980 and 1996 – and three-time beaten finalists – Germany have failed to make it through the group stage on three occasions, in 1984, 2000 and 2004. 

Coach and player links
• Play together:
Paddy McNair (Northern Ireland) and Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) – Manchester United

• Northern Ireland defender Gareth McAuley made his international debut in the 4-1 friendly defeat by Germany in Belfast in June 2005.

• Northern Ireland goalkeeping coach Maik Taylor was born in Hildesheim, Germany, in 1971 to a German mother. A Werder Bremen fan growing up, he won the first of his 88 caps against the country of his birth in March 1999.

• Northern Ireland's Jonny Evans and Germany's Mesut Özil met in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League round of 16, when Özil's Real Madrid defeated Evans's Man. United 3-2 on aggregate.

• Jonny Evans scored in United's 5-0 UEFA Champions League victory against a Leverkusen side containing Germany's Bernd Leno on 27 November 2013.