Ireland beat Germany; late leveller flattens Scots.
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“And then when this campaign started, it started so well, with away wins which Northern Ireland aren’t renowned for”.
In Belfast, Northern Ireland ensured they will make their first-ever appearance at the European championships next June after easing past Euro 2004 winners Greece 3-1.
The top two automatically qualify and the third will face the play-offs.
Poland and the Republic of Ireland meet on Sunday evening in Warsaw for the final group match of the European qualifiers to decide on the final standings in group D.
Lafferty still managed to steal the spotlight on Sky Sports last night though, pouring a few champagne over reporter Paul Gilmour, alongside team-mate Chris Baird.
“We’re not just going to go to France and enjoy it”, said O’Neill, whose side have risen from 88th to 35th in the Federation Internationale de Football Association world ranking during his tenure. It was a great night, but we have got to focus on Poland now.
The injury news is more concerning for the Poles considering Martin O’Neill is expected to welcome back his own threesome of players in Seamus Coleman, Glenn Whelan and James McClean.
“We knew what kind of game it was going to be here so it’s a little bit disappointing that we didn’t win”.
“I just wanted to focus on each game as it came along”.
Portugal sealed their place with a 1-0 victory over Denmark in Braga guaranteeing top spot in Group I, thanks to Joao Moutinho’s 66th-minute goal.
O’Neill was quick to address the issue of Robert Lewandowski, who continued his incredible goalscoring form against Scotland when he scored a last minute equalliser to maintain their hopes of automatic qualification.
“In the end we wasted too many chances and conceded an unnecessary goal after a mistake, coupled with a lot of play-acting and a weak referee”. “Hopefully we get the one we’ve tentatively chosen, I think you put three down and hopefully get the one you want”.
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“We’ve all had our times through our careers when we’re playing or not, and the time has come for a few other players”.
