AUL TIME GREATEST
Win would top lot
GARETH McAULEY thinks taking Germany’s scalp would go down as Northern Ireland’s greatest win.
Northern Ireland have kept seven clean sheets in eight qualifying games but the world champions will be strong favourites in tomorrow night’s World Cup clash in Belfast.
Germany beat Michael O’Neill’s men 2-0 when they met in Hanover last year and top the world rankings.
But McAuley is targeting a special night at a rocking Windsor Park.
The 37-year-old West Brom defender said: “The German players are on another level and Thomas Muller’s movement is brilliant.
“They have lots of other players with that quality but I see games like this as a challenge.
“How do you improve if you don’t challenge yourself against these players? If you can stop them, it makes you feel good when you sit down and think about it and you have real satisfaction.
“If we could beat Germany, it would be the biggest result that I’ve ever had in international football and up there with the best for the country. If you look at the stat that they have never ® lost a World Cup qualifier away from home, that’s just ridiculous.
“It would be incredible if we did it and would be amazing for our country to say we ended their record.
“It’s going to be tough. We know we are going to have to play counter-attack football but we have the belief that we can hurt them.
“And the game is in Belfast with a tight ground and a big crowd behind us. We have nothing to lose.
“They are talking about having 10 wins out of 10 in the qualifying and it’s up to us to stop that.”
England and Spain have been among Northern Ireland’s surprise victims in recent years but McAuley said attitudes have changed since he first came on to the international scene in 2005.
“Years ago if we had got a big result we’d probably be hitting the town to celebrate and thought happy days,” said McAuley. “But now there is a different mentality. You saw what it meant to the country to get to Euro 2016 and it would be amazing to qualify for another major tournament. That’s our goal now, not just to win big games here or there.”